Although refined and advanced operation techniques ensure minimal trauma, there remains a significant burden on the patient’s body to recover following an intervention. Depending on the severity, the human body has to activate several energy-consuming physiological responses during the healing process, which ultimately necessitate consumption of a balanced and enriched nutrition, and which is often overlooked in the prescribed recovery regimen (Ljungqvist et al., 2010).
There are also data demonstrating that enrichment of the diet with specific nutrients accelerates healing and decreases post-surgery complications even in the absence of diagnosed malnutrition (Windsor et al., 2004). Prescription of a specialised nutritional therapy to enhance the immune system could be medically warranted, as it is proven to shorten the duration of hospitalization post-operatively (Windsor et al, 2004).
After surgery, adequate nutrition is essential during convalescence. Whether the patient can eat on their own or need to be fed with the assistance of a tube, the early delivery of the nutrients required by the body is important for recovery. According to Lawson and colleagues (2013), as many as 80% of physicians agree that adequate nutrition can significantly reduce post-operative complications.
This article is intended for medical professionals.
Prepared by:
Dr Reshma Ramracheya
Diabetes UK RD Lawrence Research Fellow
Senior Research Fellow at Wolfson College
University of Oxford, UK
Reshma.ramracheya@ocdem.ox.ac.uk
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