Can Gum Chewing Reduce Postoperative Ileus after Open Abdominal Surgery?

Purpose: Gum chewing activates chephalic-vagal reflex as in food consumption and increases the release of gastrointestinal hormones which are related with gut motility. The objective of this study was to assess whether it is effective in shortening the time of hospitalization and postoperative ileus. Methods: Twenty patients who received open abdominal surgery for colon cancer in Gachon University, Gil Hospital were collected. They were further categorized to gum-chewing group (n=10, mean age=52.0 years, range 37 to 70) and control group (n=10, mean age=59.7 years, range 35 to 75) randomly. The patients in the gum-chewing group chewed gum three times a day from the first postoperative AM until the day they began oral intake. The time of gas out was recorded in each group. Results: The mean time of gas out were 2.35 days (SD 1.2) in gum-chewing group and 2.87 days (SD 1.2) in control group (P=0.41). The mean postoperative hospital days were 10.5 days in gum-chewing group and 13.0 days in control group (P=0.23). Conclusion: There were no statistically significant results for shortnening of postoperative ileus and hospital day in this study.