Chewing Gum May Be the New Post-Operative Medicine

A new study reports that recovery of bowel function after gastrointestinal surgery is aided by chewing gum.

Researchers at the University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill, NC, USA) evaluated 102 patients who underwent radical cystectomy and urinary diversion for clinically localized bladder cancer. The first cohort of patients underwent surgery between July 2004 and August 2005 and served as a control group in which no gum was dispensed; the second cohort underwent surgery between September 2005 and July 2006. These patients were given chewing gum to begin on postoperative day one. Outcome measures included time to flatus, time to bowel movement, length of hospital stay, and complications.

The study results showed that the time to flatus was shorter in patients who received gum compared with controls (2.4 versus 2.9 days). Also, time to bowel movement was reduced in patients who received gum (3.2 versus 3.9 days). There was no significant difference in length of hospital stay between gum-chewing patients and controls. Gum chewing was well tolerated in all patients. The study was published in the December 2007 issue of the journal Urology.

"Gum chewing may speed the recovery of bowel function after cystectomy and diversion,” concluded lead author Erik Kuoba, M.D., and colleagues of the division of urologic surgery. "These findings are consistent with outcomes in the colorectal surgery published data that support the use of chewing gum as an easy and inexpensive way to enhance recovery after surgery.”

Several studies have shown that gum chewing may encourage bowel motility after gastrointestinal surgery by stimulating the smooth muscle fibers in the bowel and secretions from the salivary glands and liver.


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