Surgery for peptic ulcer in patients with chronic lung disease

Of 689 patients who underwent subtotal gastric resection on the surgical services of The New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center, there were fourteen patients with significant chronic lung disease who had resection for proved benign ulcers of the stomach or duodenum. These patients were older and as a group showed a high incidence of postoperative pulmonary complications. Survival and good results can be achieved. Patients with chronic lung disease and peptic ulcers are best managed by assuming the two conditions are separate processes and by treating each in accordance with established principles. The results of studies performed on an eighty-three year old man with a gastric pouch are also presented.