CERTAIN vasomotor and gastrointestinal symptoms may occasionally develop following any type of surgery on the stomach. Through common usage these symptoms have become collectively known by the rather repugnant term of "dumping syndrome."1 Presumably, the symptom complex results primarily either from loss of the stomach as a storage organ or from ablation of the regulatory emptying mechanism, particularly the pyloric sphincter.
Numerous theories2-13 have been postulated to explain the dumping syndrome since its first description by Hertz in 1913.14 These have more or less resolved into two currently prevailing schools of thought, one based on the theory of hypovolemic shock13,15 and the other on the theory of excessive serotonin release.2,8,10 A combination of the two might jointly best explain the mechanism.
Fortunately, most patients who develop dumping symptoms are benefited by dietary management and other conservative measures.16 The remaining few, however, may ultimately require