Chewing Gum May Quicken Recovery Time for Colon Surgery

If you are having colon surgery, your doctor might just prescribe sugar-free sticks of gum to help you get home sooner! Chewing gum four times a day for five to forty-five minutes may help you pass gas and have a bowel movement (BM) quicker, with less side effects and pain from the surgery.

Colon surgery usually results from intestinal inflammation, cancer, or polyps. After colon surgery, patients aren't allowed to have liquids, solid food, or be released from the hospital until they pass gas or have a BM. The colon, sometimes referred to as the large intestines, is responsible for the final stages of the digestive process. It works to maintain balance in the body's fluid. The colon has three main functions which consist of absorbing certain vitamins and processing material which is indigestible, such as fiber; to store waste that wasn't digested by the small intestines while waiting to be eliminated; and, eliminating solid waste out of the anus.

Recovery from colon surgery usually involves nausea, vomiting, cramping, and bloating, caused from patients having delayed times for passing gas or having their first BM. These uncomfortable side effects may be suppressed by gum chewing according to the new research recently released in the August issue of Archives of Surgery. It seems, based on the studies, gum chewing helps to increase the production of saliva and digestive fluids from the pancreas, aiding in bowel functions.

When having surgery most would prefer their recovery time to be quick and painless. Anything they can do to aid this process is great. Researchers at Imperial's St. Mary's Hospital found that patients recovering from colon surgery who chewed gum for five to forty-five minutes, on average, had bowel movements a little over a day earlier than those who didn't chew gum, and passed gas a half day sooner. Their conclusion was based on five studies that involved 158 patients who chewed gum and those that did not, during recovery. Based on four of the studies, gum chewers went home from the hospital around one day earlier than non-gum chewers.

Sanjay Purkayastha, co-author of the study pointed out the fact that gum has a common artificial sweetener which can have a laxative effect. Because of the laxative effects of chewing gum, it could also aid in the recovery of other abdominal surgeries. Not only could gum help surgery pains, but it could also reduce the cost of the more than 320,000 colorectal surgeries annually in the U.S. that cost over $2,000 for each day of hospitalization. Planning to have colon surgery? Don't forget your sugar-free gum!