Postoperative feeding: A clinical review

The tradition of withholding postoperative enteral feeds until the spontane ous resolution of ileus, demonstrated by the return of flatus or bowel move ment is not supported by the literature, There is an abundance of evidence from the basic science end general surgery literature that supports early f eeding after surgery, This is a review of the available literature on posto perative feeding, including data from gastrointestinal physiology, We concl ude that early feeding is safe and well tolerated after most obstetric and gynecologic procedures and will lead to decreased cost, shorter hospitaliza tion, and improved patient satisfaction.