Radiotelemetering studies of jejunal pH before and after vagotomy and pyloroplasty.

Disorders of small bowel function after gastric surgery are well recognized and occur even after vagotomy and drainage procedures (Logan, 1964). Various aetiological factors have been suggested. They include altered motility, inadequate mixing of food and digestive enzymes, diminished pancreatic secretion, and the effect of blind or stagnant loops. Watson, Watt, Paton, Glen, and Lewis (1966) suggested that changes in pH in the small bowel might contribute to disorders of small bowel function after gastric surgery, and investigated changes in jejunal pH following gastroenterostomy and total vagotomy, using pH-sensitive radiocapsules. A complicating factor in this study was that the position of the recording capsule in the jejunum with respect to the acid and alkaline sources was reversed after operation. This prompted the present study on patients with vagotomy and pyloroplasty, as this operation does not alter the anatomical relationship between the stomach and small bowel.