Laparoscopic treatment of duodenal ulcer by bilateral truncal vagotomy and endoscopic balloon dilatation.

The low morbidity and early recovery associated with laparoscopic procedures have shown a new direction for many types of surgery. We performed a laparoscopic bilateral truncal vagotomy (BTV) with pyloric dilatation (PD) in 20 patients (11 men, 9 women, ranging in age from 32 to 56 years, with a mean age of 42 years). All patients had chronic duodenal ulcer diagnosed endoscopically, with a mean duration of symptoms of 2.6 years (range 2-8 years). The mean length of surgery was 55 min (range 45-90 min). The mean follow-up period was 16 months (range 3-25 months). In 1 patient, esophageal perforation occurred during the dissection of the left vagus nerve and was sutured laparoscopically. Acid secretion tests under basal conditions and pentagastrin stimulation preoperatively and 1 month postoperatively showed a decrease in basal acid output (BAO) of 76% and maximal acid output (MAO) of 84.2%. Endoscopy at the second and sixth postoperative month showed healing of the ulcer in 19 of 20 patients (95%). One patient had partial pyloric stenosis due to chronic duodenal ulcer before BTV and PD and developed complete pyloric stenosis after the surgery. Despite repeated pyloric balloon dilatation, he required an open drainage procedure (gastroduodenostomy, Jaboulay). Three patients (15%) had postoperative diarrhea and responded very well to medical treatment. The preliminary results showed that laparoscopic BTV with PD is a simple and effective procedure for the treatment of chronic duodenal ulcer.