PURPOSE: Our intent was to show that immediate postoperative feeding of a regular diet after elective colorectal surgery was safe, tolerable, and feasible. METHODS: This was a nonrandomized, prospective study of 38 consecutive patients who underwent elective colorectal surgery over a three-month period. Our study parameters included operative length of time, intraoperative blood loss, need for transfusions, day to flatus or defecation, ability to tolerate a diet, placement of nasogastric tubes postoperatively, and length of hospital stay. These patients were compared with patients treated by different surgeons during the same time period but fed only after return of bowel sounds or flatus. RESULTS: Thirty-one of 36 patients eventually included in this study were able to tolerate our early feeding regimen. There were a total of seven other complications that were minor and unrelated to the early feeding. Patients who tolerated early feeding had shorter postoperative length of stays, 5.7 vs. 10.6 days. Patients who tolerated early feeding had shorter length of stays than patients treated in a more conventional manner, 5.7 vs. 8.0 days. Those who did not tolerate early feeding had longer procedures and greater intraoperative blood loss. CONCLUSIONS: Early postoperative feeding is safe and is tolerated by the majority of patients. Early feeding, if tolerated, decreases length of hospital stay and may decrease health care costs. Longer operative time and increased blood loss intraoperatively may indicate a more difficult procedure and identify those patients who will not tolerate early feeding.
