Peptic Ulcer Disease - Surgery
Surgery is rarely needed to treat peptic ulcers. Very effective medicine treatments are available to help heal ulcers. Treatment of a Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection prevents most ulcers from coming back.
Surgery is needed sometimes to treat:
Enlarged Spleen: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatments
What is the spleen and what causes an enlarged spleen (splenomegaly)? The spleen sits under your rib cage in the upper left part of your abdomen toward your back. It is an organ that is part of the lymph system and works as a drainage network that defends your body against infection. White blood cells produced in the spleen engulf bacteria, dead tissue, and foreign matter, removing them from the blood as blood passes through it. The spleen also maintains healthy red and white blood cells and platelets;...
Read the Enlarged Spleen: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatments article > >
- Ulcers that do not heal (intractable peptic ulcers) after extensive medicine therapy and self-care.
- Life-threatening complications of an ulcer, such as severe bleeding, perforation, or obstruction.
Surgery Choices
When surgery is done to treat an ulcer, it usually involves one or more of the following:
- Cutting one or more of the nerves to the stomach (vagotomy).
- Widening the opening of the bottom of the stomach (pyloroplasty).
- Removing part of the stomach (partial gastrectomy).
What To Think About
Because medicine for peptic ulcers works so well, surgery is rarely needed. If surgery is suggested, you may want to:
- Seek a second opinion and ask whether all medicine treatment options have been tried.
- Compare the cost of long-term medicine treatment to the one-time cost of surgery.
- Remember that no surgery can completely prevent ulcers from returning.
- Find a surgeon who has a lot of experience with this type of surgery.
WebMD Medical Reference from Healthwise
Peptic Ulcer Disease Topics
Today in Digestive Disorders
Health Solutions From Our Sponsors
©2005-2012 WebMD, LLC. All rights reserved.
WebMD does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. See additional information.