[Pathomorphology of the duodenal stump after gastric resection (Billroth II)].

40 duodenal stumps formed following gastric resections according to Billroth II were studied. The most recent stump was 6 hours old, the oldest 35 years. With some exceptions the torus on the stump---due to the suture---disappears within one year and is replaced by a wide strip of scar tissue. Chronic inflammations due to foreign bodies, some with acute exacerbation, were proved histologically to persist even decades after the resection. These inflammations are closely related with the suture material and other foreign matter. In patients submitted to the Billroth II operation, lipomatosis in the pancreas occurred more rarely, whereas fibrosis set in more often.