Billroth I gastric resection versus truncal vagotomy and pyloroplasty in the treatment of gastric ulcer.

Forty-five patients with benign gastric ulcers were treated by truncal vagotomy and pyloroplasty or Billroth I gastric resection in a randomized, controlled trial. Postoperatively, one Billroth I patient died. During the follow-up recurrence occurred in three patients treated by vagotomy, but in no Billroth I patient. The overall functional results according to the classification of Visick were slightly, but unsignificantly better after Billroth I than after vagotomy and pyloroplasty.