Patterns of propulsive motility in the human colon after abdominal operations

Twenty patients about to undergo elective cholecystectomy who were not using laxatives or drugs known to affect gastrointestinal motility and who did not give a history of gastrointestinal disease were investigated in a prospective open study. Patients swallowed two capsules each containing four radio-opaque markers every 12 hours starting 48 hours before operation. The pattern of resolution of postoperative colonic paralysis was monitored by serial abdominal radiographs taken every 12 hours until motility had returned to the rectum/sigmoid colon. In all 17 patients who completed the study propulsive motility started significantly earlier in the right colon (mean 61 hours) than in any other part (p less than 0.01). The gradient of resolution of postoperative colonic paralysis was always from proximal to distal, adding to the accumulating body of experimental evidence that implicates the right colon to return to normal first.