Selective versus truncal vagotomy. A comprehensive study of fecal nitrogen and fat losses.

Abstract A comparison has been made of the changes in body weight, stool bulk, and fecal fat and nitrogen excretion after both selective and truncal vagal denervation in the same animal in an effort to study differences between these two procedures. The following results were obtained. 1. 1. After pyloroplasty alone or pyloroplasty accompanied by vagotomy, either truncal, selective, or “reverse selective,” that is, sectioning only the hepatic and celiac trunks, body weight decreased. This weight was not regained totally in any animal over a two to seven month period of observation but neither were there any further significant losses despite further surgery. 2. 2. Stool bulk increased after truncal vagotomy and did not differ significantly after selective division. 3. 3. Fecal fat excretion (a) increased after pyloroplasty alone; (b) increased after pyloroplasty accompanied by selective vagotomy; (c) increased after pyloroplasty accompanied by truncal vagotomy. 4. 4. Fecal nitrogen excretion (a) did not increase after pyloroplasty alone; (b) did not increase after pyloroplasty accompanied by selective vagotomy; (c) increased after pyloroplasty accompanied by truncal vagotomy. 5. 5. The presence of greater stool bulk after truncal vagotomy did not coincide with a decrease in body weight in the animals in which it occurred. The excretion of fecal fat is greater after selective vagotomy than after truncal vagotomy when both are performed in the same animal, but nitrogen excretion is greater after truncal division. From this data, we have concluded that selective vagotomy has no great advantages over truncal division, and the extra time and care necessary to perform selective denervation are not warranted.