Treatment of Acute Perforation of Peptic Ulcers

Abstract

This report is based on a study of 514 cases of perforated peptic ulcer. Follow-up data were obtained for periods ranging from less than a year to more than 22 years in 285 of the 449 cases in which the patients survived simple closure of the perforation. In 101(35.5 per cent) of these 285 cases, the patients were free of symptoms when they were last seen. Ulcer symptoms persisted or recurred in 166 (58.2 per cent) of the 285 cases, and an operation was performed later in 110 of these 166 cases.