Peptic Ulcer Disease

EMERGENCY surgical treatment of the ulcer patient with massive upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage has been associated with a greater number of complications and a higher mortality than elective operative procedures for ulcer disease.1-6Earlier operative intervention, elective operation in patients who previously have bled, and shorter operative procedures have been mentioned as means of reducing mortality and morbidity.3,7-9Temporizing measures such as gastric hypothermia have been used to avoid emergency operation and convert this type of catastrophe into an elective surgical procedure.10,11Irrespective of the methods used, postoperative morbidity and mortality have been higher in these patients than reported following elective operation for benign ulcer disease. The present study was undertaken after the cause of death and the types of postoperative complications seen following emergency operation for massive upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage were evaluated. This report is concerned primarily with the management of 50 consecutive patients undergoing emergency operation