Conservative surgery for bleeding peptic ulcer.

3leeding peptic ulcer accounts for 80 to 85 ! ; ; of hospital admissions for gastrointestinal haemorrhage (Tanner, 1954 Avery Jones, 1957; Aird, 1957). Improved supportive therapy and greater co-operation between physicians and surgeons have lowered the mortality in this condition. Mortality is influenced by the age of the patient, the severity of the bleeding, and the site of the ulcer. Patients over the age of 50 who continue to bleed may die unless treated surgically (Avery Jones, 1947). Chinn, Littell, Badger, and Beams (1956) found that patients 'inder 50 had a mortality of 6% for duodenal ulcer compared with 22% for gastric ulcer, and in those over 50 the mortality ,vas 14% and 48% respectively. On the other hand, Coghill and Willocx (1960) reported a mortality of 23% after emer- zency surgery for duodenal ulcer.