Vagotomy
The vagotomy is a method for the surgical treatment of a stomach ulcer or duodenal ulcer .
In the operation, which is small compared to a gastric resection , the branches of the vagus nerve (tenth cranial nerve) that supply the stomach are cut . This is said to reduce the production of acidic gastric secretions . This operation has become obsolete today due to the development of the mostly very effective proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) and the importance of the eradication of the bacterium Helicobacter pylori for ulcer therapy.
Forms of vagotomy
Basically, it is possible to cut through the vagus nerve (right and left main trunk) or parts of the nerve at different anatomical levels; the following terms are chosen accordingly:
1. Thoracic vagotomy: cutting the main trunks in the chest
2. Truncular vagotomy: division of the main trunks (Truncus vagalis anterior et posterior) from the abdomen in the area of the lower esophagus
3. Gastric vagotomy: severing the nerve parts that extend to the stomach while preserving the nerve branches (for example to the liver)
4. Selective proximal vagotomy (SPV or "parietal cell vagotomy"): cutting of the nerve branches leading to the stomach with the preservation of the parts leading to the stomach gate (pylorus) (N. Latarjet)
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- Horst-Dieter Becker , W. Lierse, HW Schreiber (editor): Gastric surgery. Springer-Verlag, Heidelberg / New York / Tokyo 1986, ISBN 3-540-12417-9 .
