Flatus

Resumption of oral feeding after small intestine surgery is a matter of controversy .Some surgeons advocate early resumption while others don't.early feeding is initiated as soon as the patient recovers from effects of anaesthesia, while late resumption is started after 24-48 hours after surgery.Recent studies and guidelines suggest early feeding. The aim of this study is to compare the early and late resumption of oral feeding.

There is pre-existing evidence that probiotics could be useful in the improvement of ileus rates. One metaanalysis of 30 studies demonstrated a reduction in the prevalence of post-operative ileus as determined by time to flatus, time to defecation, as well as postoperative abdominal distension (PMID:37373843). More broadly in gastrointestinal surgery, a meta-analysis of 21 randomised controlled trials similarly affirmed the speedier recovery of gastrointestinal function after surgery when probiotics were administered (PMID: 35231076). In spite of these advantages, the routine use of probiotics perioperatively for colorectal cancer surgery is not performed in Singapore. We therefore seek to perform a trial to investigate whether probiotic administration perioperatively may reduce post operative ileus rates.