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Peptic Ulcer Disease
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:
- 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.
| By: | Healthwise Staff | Last Revised: February 24, 2010 |
| Medical Review: | Kathleen Romito, MD - Family Medicine Jerome B. Simon, MD, FRCPC, FACP - Gastroenterology | |
© 1995-2011 Healthwise, Incorporated. Healthwise, Healthwise for every health decision, and the Healthwise logo are trademarks of Healthwise, Incorporated. This information does not replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise, Incorporated disclaims any warranty or liability for your use of this information. Your use of this information means that you agree to the Terms of Use. How this information was developed to help you make better health decisions.
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