The long-term prognosis of patients gastrectomized for benign gastroduodenal diseases.

To study the long-term prognosis after gastrectomy, a total of 6,662 gastrectomized patients who had been operated on for benign gastroduodenal diseases between 1965 and 1980 were followed up from September 1, 1984 to May 30, 1986. The final vital status for the observed period could not be confirmed in 493 patients (7.4%), giving a follow-up rate of 92.6%. The average observation period was 13.1 years. The mortality from total deaths was almost identical to that of the general population adjusted for sex, age, and time trends of mortality, except for lower mortality among males in the first five years after operation. The risk of cancer mortality at all sites was lower than that of the general population, mainly due to the lower mortality from stomach cancer. This trend was not affected either by the type of gastroduodenal disease or by the method of operation. However, lung cancer mortality among males was significantly higher and one of the reasons for that could be excess smoking by males.