A surgical procedure in which all or part of the stomach is removed, usually to treat cancer, severe ulcers, or other stomach diseases.
From Greek 'gastro-' (stomach) and '-ectomy' (surgical removal), from 'ektemnein' (to cut out). The procedure was first successfully performed in the 1880s.
Early gastrectomy surgeons were true pioneers—operating without antibiotics or proper imaging, they saved lives by removing cancerous stomachs, yet patients had to relearn how to eat and digest food without a stomach!
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