Gastric freezing as a definitive modality of treatment of manifestations of the peptic ulcer diathesis has been under scrutiny for sometime in many areas. Time and trial have shown that depression of gastric secretion attending gastric freeze of the intact stomach of dog and man are temporary. We share the disappointment expressed by Dr. Hitchcock and his colleagues over this circumstance; however, we do not share their sense of discouragement.
To date at the University of Minnesota Medical Center, stomachs of 591 patients have been subjected to gastric freeze. Of this number, gastric freeze was carried out for duodenal ulcer in 471 instances; for gastric ulcer in 25 patients; stenosing esophagitis from acid peptic reflux in six patients; and for patients with hiatal hernia and attendant esophagitis in 15 instances. Repetitive esophageal mucosal freezing has been done in ten patients.
There has been no mortality directly or indirectly attributed to