Abstract
Objectives: The purpose of this study was to compare early oral intake and the traditional timing of feeding after laparoscopic gynecologic surgery.
Method: One hundred seventy-eight patients underwent laparoscopic gynecologic surgery at Osaka Rosai Hospital between October 2004 and August 2007, and were allocated to two groups. One group was the traditional feeding group (89 patients), who began clear fluids on the first postoperative day and were advanced slowly to a solid diet. The other group was the early feeding group (89 patients), who also began clear fluids on the first postoperative day and received a regular solid diet. These groups were compared with respect to the incidence of adverse effects, the length of time until passage of gas and defecation, and the dietary intake.
Result: The demographic characteristics of the two groups were similar. The incidence of postoperative complications was 4.5% (4 patients) of women in the traditional feeding group and 2.2% (2 patients) of women in the early feeding group. There were no cases of ileus in either group. There were also no differences in the length of time elapsed for passage of gas and defecation, and the dietary intake between the two groups.
Conclusion: In our setting, early advancing of diet postoperatively after laparoscopic gynecologic surgery did not increase adverse effects. Early oral intake seems to be safe, and traditional feeding is not necessary.
