Indication:
Patients with an ulcer that fails to heal despite exhaustive medical treatment require scheduled ulcer repair. Patients with
an ulcer that perforates (forms a hole in the intestine) or bleeds repeatedly or excessively require emergency surgery.
Preoperative Evaluation:
In emergency situations patients only need a few simple X-rays and occasionally an upper endoscopy called an EGD. In elective
situations all patients receive either an upper endoscopy or upper GI barium study. In some cases blood tests are used to look
for the causes of the ulcers.
Procedure:
Depending upon the individual situation this ranges from simply patching the hole with adjacent fatty tissue (Graham patch) to
cutting the nerves which cause ulcers (vagotomy) and rerouting the intestine (pyloroplasty) to removing the part of the stomach
which produces the acid (antrectomy) and rerouting the intestine.
Length of Stay: Variable depending upon overall patient health and whether the surgery was elective or emergent. The average for elective surgery is about five days whereas for emergency surgery this may be longer.
Recovery: 4 to 6 weeks with no driving for 2 weeks and no lifting over 10 pounds for 6 weeks.
