ELECTROMYOGRAPHIC AND CINEFLUOROGRAPHIC STUDY ON MOTILITY OF THE RESIDUAL STOMACH AFTER GASTRECTOMIES

Abstract

The present study was made to investigate the details of gastric emptying mechanism in man.
For this purpose thrity-four patients with surgical diseases of the stomach who underwent proximal gastrectomy, resection of the gastric body, and antrectomy in our department were studied.
Bipolar needle electrode was sewn into the pyloric wall muscle under the serosa after the gastrectomies. Electrical activity of the pylorus and cinefluorographic image of the residual stomach using barium food were simultaneously recorded by means of cine-oscillo-synchronizing unit on the 7th through 22nd day after operation.
The results obtained are as follows:
1. In the groups of proximal gastrectomy and resection of the gastric body electrical activity of the pylorus was accelerated and gastric emptying was also promoted when the patient exchanges his posture from lying his back to standing upright.
2. In the group of antrectomy, however, both the electrical activity of the pylorus and the gastric emptying were not influenced by the same postural exchange as above.
From these results it is conceivable that mechanical stretch cued of food on the pyloric antrum is a factor promoting the gastric emptying mechanism.