ABSTRACT
Gastric surgery, once a common procedure in general surgery, is performed much less frequently. Gastric surgery inherently has adverse effects on gastrointestinal motility. The dumping syndrome is one of the most common causes of morbidity after gastric surgery. Diarrhea is not uncommon after gastric surgery, its incidence is higher among patients who have undergone vagotomy. Five to fifteen percent of patients undergoing gastric surgery will experience alkaline reflux gastritis. Commonly encountered nutritional impairments after gastric surgery are maldigestion and malabsorption of polymeric foods, sustained underweight, abnormal satiety, iron deficiency, and osteomalacia. Mild-to-moderate anemias are common after gastric surgery. Gastric outlet obstruction, usually the result of recurrent ulceration, is the least common complication of duodenal ulcer disease. When gastric ulcers fail to heal completely, malignancy must be ruled out; inability to do so qualifies as an indication for surgery. The mainstay of therapy for gastric cancer is surgery, which provides the only hope of cure.
