The
surgical removal of the
stomach. This is
all too often the only viable
treatment for those unlucky enough to get
stomach cancer.
As a semi-replacement for the stomach, the surgeon will make a small pouch out of
large intestine material. This pouch will store ingested food, but it cannot produce
stomach acid. Because of this, the
patient must take
medications which aid in the digestion of food (i.e., take the place of
stomach acid). Since this pseduo-stomach is obviously not as effective as the original, the
patient is virtually unable to eat
normal solid food, especially in any
significant quantity. At best,
baby food is all the
patient will be able to eat.
Pleasant? Not very. But hey, it's
probably better than dying.