Sep 25, 2018

Interviewer: You've had a surgery now what do you swallow afterwards? Does information technology thing? Nosotros're going to find out next on The Scope.

Journalist: Health information from expects, supported by research. From Academy of Utah Health, this is TheScopeRadio.com.

Does Your Diet Matter Later on Surgery?

Interviewer: Subsequently you've had a surgery does your diet influence how well you'll heal? We're with Dr. Jeffrey Camden. He's a surgeon at the University of Utah Hospital. Does your diet matter after surgery?

Dr. Jeff Campsen: I retrieve so. Let's start from the beginning, so you have some sort of inter-abdominal surgery, and you come out of the surgery, and at some point you're going to want to eat again. Some people take a couple days to experience hungry, some people want to eat right abroad, and information technology depends on what's going on. So nosotros sit downwardly as the managing squad and really try to make certain that your intestines for lack of a meliorate word wake support and can accept food and basically let you lot non to go ill afterward surgery. And so the things that we look for are basically everybody hears their stomach rumble, we want to hear those sounds. So afterwards surgery sometimes your intestines tin shut downwardly. It'south called an ileus and information technology basically means that the intestines aren't actively moving nutrient forward, and and then if that'southward happening and so yous tin can't swallow yet.

Interviewer: And that rumbling is that what's happening?

Dr. Jeff Campsen: That's your intestines basically waking back up. Basically being comfy that no one's going to become in and touch them again and operate on them once more.

two Tips to Help Your Intestines Post-Surgery

Information technology's interesting there's really 2 things that aid your intestines wake up and they've been proven. One is getting up out of bed and walking considering that normalcy and the pumping of blood from the walking through the body helps, and and so there is a good study out of the Mayo Clinic that said chewing bubble mucilage actually helps intestines come dorsum quicker, and it's probably considering you're not really creating whatsoever nutrient simply you're giving that sort of reflex of tasting something in your rima oris and stimulating your stomach and your lower intestines to think that they demand to be working, and so chewing glue and walking those two things are probably the all-time advice that you can get to moving along.

Interviewer: Got y'all, alright and then what types of foods practise you want to start eating at that point?

Signs to Watch For While Recovering

Dr. Jeff Campsen: And so at that indicate when we start hearing bowel sounds, and we actually ask our patients, you lot know, "Are you passing gas?" This is a difficult question for some people because no one wants to acknowledge that, simply in this particular case that'due south a good thing and nosotros want to hear that. What we don't desire to hear from you lot is that you're burping. Burping'southward bad, that ways that stuff's not going through and it's bankroll up in your stomach's getting distended. The reason that that's concerning is if your breadbasket gets besides distended it tin cause yous to vomit, and if yous vomit too much and you lot've merely had surgery, and you're mildly sedated y'all tin actually breathe that vomit in which is called aspiration, and information technology can give you a very bad pneumonia.

Interviewer: Does that have any adventure at that signal of rupturing those internal sutures?

Dr. Jeff Campsen: I call back that it can. Your abdominal wall is going to spasm to exercise those vehement vomiting episodes, and you probably tin harm the repairs that we've made on you, and so nosotros'd prefer that non to happen.

Interviewer: So at this point are you still under the care of a physician and a team?

Dr. Jeff Campsen: Yes.

Interviewer: Up until this betoken.

Post-Surgery Diet: Liquids to Soft Foods

Dr. Jeff Campsen: Right, so you lot've come up out of the operating room, we're in the get-go sort of 24 hours, 24, 72 hours, are you lot starting...Are you lot not burping, is your intestines making the rumbling sounds, and plus or minus are you passing some gas? At that point what we would beginning you on is basically some clear liquids. If yous can encounter through it it's not thick, not milk which is very thick, we showtime you on that. If you can tolerate articulate liquids then we, what we telephone call it is avant-garde diet is tolerated, then y'all may become onto something soft, it's called a soft mechanical diet, that's not very spicy, non hot, non all these kind of things that may upset your breadbasket, that's very bland. Bread and sort of soup those kind of things and if you handle that and so you can move along to what you would desire to swallow.

Maintain A Healthy Nutrition at Habitation

Interviewer: Alright and when you get discharged and yous go abode what should you exist thinking virtually in your diet at that point?

Dr. Jeff Campsen: Well I think at that point y'all tin can basically go back and consume whatsoever you would usually want to consume. I do call back it's an opportunity to really reevaluate what y'all are eating and basically attempt to consume salubrious because if y'all've had inter-abdominal surgery you lot demand the building blocks for healing, protein, sugars, different things that go into along your abdominal wall to heal, and if you're eating unhealthy during that time you're not going to give your trunk the kind of tools and building blocks that it'southward going to need to heal properly. And then you want to look at your diet and endeavor to eat as good for you as possible during that time. At present if you tin can parlay that into lifelong better dietary habits then that's great. Y'all might as well; you've gone through the surgery y'all might every bit well benefit from information technology on that angle besides.

Interviewer: Got y'all, so it sounds like if you ate salubrious beforehand but continue your normal diet afterwards. If perchance you didn't have the best nutrition beforehand that be a good fourth dimension to reevaluate and maybe make some lifestyle changes.

Dr. Jeff Campsen: I think so; I call up information technology's extremely important during the commencement calendar month to swallow healthy because again you have to have the right components in your diet to allow your body to then create a new abdominal wall, for lack of a improve discussion. To heal that area that was, where the incision was made, and if you don't give your body that then you're not going to heal well, and and so if you get an infection, a complication, a hernia it could be a result of that.

Interviewer: And what does it mean to eat well? I mean do you lot have to get all superstar diet, super clean foods, or...?

Dr. Jeff Campsen: No I don't think then. I recollect it comes downwardly to yous desire to have a moderate amount of calories. Then you want to wait and see how alpine yous are and based on that how many calories you should take a mean solar day and try to stick inside that, and so on tiptop on that it needs to be balanced. You demand to accept the building blocks of protein and carbohydrates, but all sugars and no protein, and I remember based on that and who y'all are going into the surgery your dietary requirements fluctuate a little bit, only again it's the bones food groups that go into it, and so moderation.

Interviewer: The stuff nosotros've learned as kids.

Dr. Jeff Campsen: That's exactly right.

Interviewer: The stuff nosotros all know but ignore when we become to the, you know, the fast nutrient restaurants.

Dr. Jeff Campsen: Right. No I remember the biggest matter is that everybody'south intestines wake upward at their own speed. It's whoever your body actually is at the time coupled with the type of surgery you lot accept, and everybody's intestines will wake up, just if you move too quickly you can hurt yourself.

Announcer: Have a question nigh a medical procedure? Want to larn more about a health condition? With over ii,000 interviews with our physicians and specialists, there's a pretty good chance you'll find what you want to know. Bank check it out at TheScopeRadio.com.


updated: September 25, 2018
originally published: June 12, 2014

Heart Health

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