During the past 15 years, various methods of restoring gastrointestinal continuity after subtotal gastrectomy have been introduced and widely employed. The use of the duodenum or jejunum for anastomosis, the position of the gastrojejunostomy with reference to the transverse colon, and the size of the stoma have accounted for the main differences in these methods.
The present report is concerned with the early complications of gastrectomies in relation to these various methods of reconstruction. We were particularly interested in the incidence and etiology of delayed gastric emptying since there is some uncertainty as to the means or timing of appropriate treatment. We hoped that the demonstration of a correlation between this complication and antecolic or retrocolic anastomosis or stomal size would result in recommendations for more effective therapy.
Materials and Methods
Data are presented from 451 patients on whom gastrectomies were performed by the senior residents at the University of