Pre- and Post-Surgery Health
The right diet is the key to managing many diseases and to improving general quality of life. For this condition, scientific research has found benefit in the following healthy eating tips.
Eating Healthy
Eat a high-quality, balanced diet, and use nutritional supplements to prevent malnutrition that can impair recovery from surgery.Eating HealthyMalnutrition, either before or after surgery, has a negative effect on recovery from surgery.98,99,100,101,102 Malnutrition is common among the elderly and chronically ill even in developed countries, and one study found that half of older general surgery patients had moderate to severe malnutrition from protein deficiency.103
Being malnourished prior to surgery was associated with increased post-operative inflammation in one recent preliminary study.104 A study of patients requiring lung surgery found that those who were better nourished prior to surgery had shorter hospital stays and required less intensive post-surgery care.105 Dietary restriction and even fasting is often required prior to certain types of surgery. However, one study found that a four- to eight-day calorie-restricted diet lowered nutritional health and caused decreased immune system activity in pre-surgery patients, but adding a nutritional formula providing extra calories and protein reduced this negative effect of the restricted diet.106 In another study, the clear liquid diet commonly recommended to patients before colon surgery was compared with a liquid diet providing protein, calories, and other nutrients; the patients who received extra nutrition prior to surgery had shorter hospital stays than those who received only clear liquids.107 After reviewing animal and human studies comparing fasting and clear liquid pre-surgery diets to pre-surgery diets including liquid carbohydrate formulas, some authorities recommend a carbohydrate formula rather than fasting in preparation for surgery.108
Liquid diets using specially prepared nutritional formulas containing all necessary nutrients are frequently used around the time of surgery, especially in patients who cannot eat solid food. Studies have also shown that use of nutritional formulas soon after surgery has a positive effect on recovery time after cesarean section109 and reduces rates of infection after abdominal surgeries.110 Reviews of nutrition research on all types of surgery patients have concluded that undernourished patients will have better results if they receive supplemental nutrition before and after surgery, and that supplemental nutrition is more helpful when given orally rather than directly to the bloodstream (intravenously).99,101,100 Whether people who are not malnourished benefit from these diet supplements is unknown.
After major surgery, it is sometimes necessary to supply nourishment by a route that bypasses the digestive tract, such as intravenously, rather than by mouth. This form of nutrition is known as “parenteral,” while food taken into the digestive tract is known as “enteral.” While there is debate about whether parenteral nutrition is less healthful than enteral nutrition,100 the decision to use one or the other is a complicated one, and should be discussed in individual cases with the treating physician.