Gastric and duodenal surgery

Abstract

While gastric and duodenal surgeries for peptic ulcer disease (PUD) were, until the late 1980s, among the most common general surgical procedures; now surgery is reserved for tumors, gastroparesis and infrequent complications of PUD such as perforation and obstruction. This dramatic change in the indications for gastric and duodenal surgery has occurred because of the discovery of Helicobacter Pylori as the main causative agent of PUD and the introduction of effective drug therapies to eliminate the bacteria and reduce gastric acid secretion. In this chapter we will detail the indications and technical aspects of the most common gastric and duodenal operations for complications of PUD and other benign and malignant gastric diseases. Duodenal surgery for other indications is discussed elsewhere in this text.