Postoperative reorganization of gastric pacemaker activity in patients after an extended period following distal gastrectomy

We recorded and analyzed electrogastrograms (EGGs) from 12 patients following distal gastrectomy. The EGGs were recorded from between 3 and 262 months post-operatively. Gastric electrical activity, which showed a distinct repeating pattern with a frequency of 3 cycles per minute (cpm), was easily recognizable in subjects who were recorded 16-20 years postoperatively, but was not clearly evident in EGG running spectra of subjects with a shorter postoperative period. Although the postprandial instability factor of the 3-cpm components (standard deviation of mean spectral frequency of peak 3-cpm group/mean of the 3-cpm spectral frequency) of the epigastric and supraumbilical EGGs showed a significant negative linear correlation with postoperative months, no such correlation was seen in the postprandial to fasting power ratio (postprandial power / fasting power) of the 3-cpm activity component. Therefore, we hypothesized that the disorganized pacemaker activity of the remnant stomach following distal gastrectomy can be reorganized to work as a synchronized unit over a long postoperative recovery period of from 15 to 20 years. A greater degree of epigastric and supraumbilical fasting 6-cpm power seemed to result in a worse quality of life (QOL). Similarly, a larger ratio of the supraumbilical postprandial to fasting power ratio of the 6-cpm activity seemed to result in a worse QOL. In contrast a larger ratio of the infaraumbilical postprandial to fasting power content of the 6-cpm activity seemed to result in a better QOL.