Acute Peptic Ulcers as a Complication of Surgery

Stress Ulcers in the Stomach

“…The same alarming sequence has since then been reported after injury to the abdomen (Gray, 1945), nervous system (Opper and Zimmerman, 1938 ;Globus and Ralston, 1951), and bones Wangensteen et al, 1945), as well as after surgical operations (McDonnell and McCloskey, 1953;Lane Roberts, 1954), particularly those on the heart (Berkowitz et al, 1957).In this paper are presented six examples of acute gastric erosions developing after exposure to various forms of stress in previously eupeptic patients, none of whom had been receiving salicylate treatment. All were fatal, five with haemorrhage, and in all cases postmortem examination seemed satisfactorily to exclude pre-existing peptic ulceration.…”

“…The same alarming sequence has since then been reported after injury to the abdomen (Gray, 1945), nervous system (Opper and Zimmerman, 1938 ;Globus and Ralston, 1951), and bones Wangensteen et al, 1945), as well as after surgical operations (McDonnell and McCloskey, 1953;Lane Roberts, 1954), particularly those on the heart (Berkowitz et al, 1957).…”

“…Peptic ulcer is a common disease; McDonnell and McCloskey (1953) found ulcers in 3.2% of a series of 243 patients who came to necropsy after general surgical procedures, and Mears (1953) reported a similar incidence in medical cases. Stewart (1923) found active or healed gastric ulcer in 4.7% of a consecutive series of 1,500 necropsies on adults.…”

A Danger of Peptic Ulceration

“…Penner and Bernheim (1939), in their study of the pathological changes in "shock," disputed Cushing's conclusions, and ascribed the ulcerating lesions to the non-specific stimulus of the shock. Herbut (1945) and McDonnell and McCloskey (1953) investigated the frequency of acute peptic ulcers in necropsies on patients dying within two months of operation, and found an incidence greater than could be explained by chance.…”