Yeast bezoar formation following gastric surgery.

Yeast bezoar seems to be a relatively common late complication after various gastric operations. The incidence of bezoar depends decisively on the nature of the operation. Vagotomy in particular is conducive to the formation of a bezoar. Vagotomy + Billroth I resection proveded the most propitious conditions for the growth of yeast, for every one-half of the patients in this group developed a bezoar. Yeast bezoars usually appear within a year of the operation. The majority disappear during the first follow-up year, many without any therapy. However, in some cases the bezoar was a rather inconvenient late complication of gastric surgery and one that gave symptoms. It is difficult to draw any definite conclusions concerning the effect of therapy on the disappearance of the bezoar. We used gastric lavage and antimycotics as well as substances that increase gastric acidity. There is still no known method of preventing the formation of yeast bezoars. In the present consensus, a change in the acid conditions and disturbed gastric motility postoperatively are conducive to the formation of a bezoar.