Chewing Gum can Help Recover Faster from Bowel Surgery

Chewing gum aids recovery from bowel surgery. It speeds up the return of normal bowel function by stimulating nerves in the digestive system.

A study published in Archives of Surgery confirms previous findings to that effect.

A London-based team from St Mary's Hospital reviewed data from five recent trials involving 158 patients.

But the researchers say more work is needed to see if this is a direct link rather than a chance finding.

In each study, a group of patients chewed sugarless gum three times per day following surgery for a period of five to 45 minutes and were compared with patients who did not chew gum.

Chewing Gum a Sweet Way to Speed Up Post-op Recovery
Hospitals are thinking of recommending chewing gums as they speed up post operative recovery.

Patients who chewed gum passed gas and had a bowel movement sooner than those who did not chew gum - signs that their bowel function returned sooner.

Any type of abdominal surgery can slow down or halt bowel function - a condition known as ileus, which can cause serious complications.

Chewing Gum Hastens Recovery After Gastrointestinal Surgery: Study
Chewing gum may make your jaws hurt after a bit, but it could get you out of bed earlier after gastrointestinal surgery as it helps in the recovery of bowel function.

In four of the trials, the length of hospital stay after an operation was also a day shorter for the patients who chewed gum.

If chewing gum did reduce hospital stay, this could save the NHS millions of pounds, say the researchers, given that more than 31,000 bowel operations are carried out in England each year and an overnight stay in hospital costs the NHS around £200.

An advisory nurse for Bowel Cancer UK said: "Chewing is a bit like eating and it starts peristalsis, which is the movement of the bowel.

"Ileus - when the bowel is slow to start working again - can occur after an operation, but it has become less common as surgery has become more refined.

"There is some evidence that chewing gum might help, but not enough that bowel surgery patients are routinely being advised to chew gum."

Source-Medindia
GPL/L