Abstract
One cause of post-operative morbidity in the elective repair of abdominal aortic aneurysms is the development of a paralytic or 'adynamic' ileus. In a series of 20 consecutive patients undergoing such a procedure, the maintenance of small bowel motility and absorptive capacity in the immediate post-operative period was assessed using barium sulphate and xylose passed down a naso-duodenal tube sited at the time of surgery. This simple study demonstrated that small bowel function was preserved in all cases, and hence that patients could be fed enterally via naso-duodenal tube (in particular using very low residue formulae) rather than using costly parenteral regimens, should an ileus persist.
Full text
PDF
Images in this article
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Baker L. W., Webster D. R. Postoperative intestinal motility. An experimental study on dogs. Br J Surg. 1968 May;55(5):374–378. doi: 10.1002/bjs.1800550511. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Catchpole B. N. Smooth muscle and the surgeon. Aust N Z J Surg. 1989 Mar;59(3):199–208. doi: 10.1111/j.1445-2197.1989.tb01502.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Crawford E. S., Saleh S. A., Babb J. W., 3rd, Glaeser D. H., Vaccaro P. S., Silvers A. Infrarenal abdominal aortic aneurysm: factors influencing survival after operation performed over a 25-year period. Ann Surg. 1981 Jun;193(6):699–709. doi: 10.1097/00000658-198106000-00005. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Fletcher J. P., Little J. M. A comparison of parenteral nutrition and early postoperative enteral feeding on the nitrogen balance after major surgery. Surgery. 1986 Jul;100(1):21–24. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Haeney M. R., Culank L. S., Montgomery R. D., Sammons H. G. Evaluation of xylose absorption as measured in blood and urine: a one-hour blood xylose screening test in malabsorption. Gastroenterology. 1978 Sep;75(3):393–400. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Mutirangura P., Stonebridge P. A., Clason A. E., McClure J. H., Wildsmith J. A., Nolan B., Ruckley C. V., Jenkins A. M. Ten-year review of non-ruptured aortic aneurysms. Br J Surg. 1989 Dec;76(12):1251–1254. doi: 10.1002/bjs.1800761208. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Sagar S., Harland P., Shields R. Early postoperative feeding with elemental diet. Br Med J. 1979 Feb 3;1(6159):293–295. doi: 10.1136/bmj.1.6159.293. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- WELLS C., RAWLINSON K., TINCKLER L., JONES H., SAUNDERS J. Ileus and postoperative intestinal motility. Lancet. 1961 Jul 15;2(7194):136–137. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(61)92652-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]