Late haemorrhage from the duodenal stump after gastrectomy.

Upper gastrointestinal haemorrhage is a common occurrence, peptic ulcer accounting for most cases (Jones, 1947, 1952; Jones and Gummer, 1960). Recurrent bleeding after definitive gastric surgery is naturally less common, but surprisingly it is of the order of 10% (Brunsgaard, 1946; Wilkins, Rogers, and Straehley, 1957; Levrat, Lambert, and Martin, 1962). In recent years a few papers have appeared describing the causative lesion (Palmer, 1962 ; Coe, McLaughlin, and Walker, 1964). Two unusual cases of bleeding from the duodenal stump some time after Polya partial gastrectomy are described.