Milk Intolerance Following Gastrectomy

Abstract

An investigation was undertaken on 436 patients following gastrectomy and approximately 30 per cent of them were proved to have milk intolerance of a varying degree. Such an intolerance was considered to be due to the fact that lactase activity in mucosa of the small intestine had been low before the surgery. In addition, it was found in a few cases that disaccharidase activity decreased after gastrectomy.
The Lactose Tolerance Test and X-ray barium test were found to be ineffective, and it is considered that the only way to diagnose milk intolerance following gastrectomy is to measure lactase activity in the intestinal mucosa in relation to the patient's symptoms.
It is therefore emphasized that lactase preparations are effective in treating milk intolerance following gastrectomy, and that the use of lactase preparations at the time of milk intake is recommended in order to prevent osteomalacia following such surgery.