Influence of the method of digestive tract reconstruction on gallstone development after total gastrectomy for gastric cancer

The aim of this study was to evaluate whether total gastrectomy performed for gastric cancer leads to an increased risk of cholelithiasis and whether the method of reconstruction of the digestive tract influences that risk. A total of 102 patients who had undergone total gastrectomy for gastric cancer between 1980 and 1990 were studied. The preoperative prevalence of cholelithiasis was 4% in men and 12% in women. Eighty-seven patients (85%) without gallstones before surgery were reexamined after gastrectomy. The postoperative prevalence of cholelithiasis in this group was 36% in men and 19% in women. Before surgery, the difference between the expected frequency of cholelithiasis (calculated on the basis of the data of a community survey) and the observed frequency was not statistically significant (p > 0.05) either in men or women. After surgery, the observed frequency of gallstones was significantly higher than the expected frequency in men (p < 0.0001) but not in women (p = 0.06). The risk of cholelithiasis was significantly higher in patients with Roux-en-Y reconstruction (n = 55) than in those with jejunal interposition (n = 32) (log-rank test, p = 0.03), and that risk was independent of age, sex, and body mass index.