[Role of gastric functional exploration in the postoperative testing of surgical vagotomies].

Better knowledge of the physiology of gastric acid secretion and especially the effects of insulin on the secretion, permits better definition of the indications for gastric functional investigation after vagotomy. The most reliable estimation of the effects of vagotomy is obtained by determining, before and after, the basal acid secretion, the maximal and post-insulinic secretions. The results should be expressed as hourly output and not in relation to arbitary criteria based on the titratable acid of the gastric juice. This investigation may be used to determine the quality of vagotomies carried out on a group of patients and to compare series of subjects in which different types of vagotomy were carried out. The tests at present available do not, however, determine precisely the effects of vagotomy in a particular patient. Their use for drawing up individual prognosis has not been demonstrated but their value is far from negligible in the diagnosis of recurrence.