Early postoperative oral feeding accelerates upper gastrointestinal anastomotic healing in the rat model

The benefits of early postoperative oral feeding following colonic anastomosis have previously been demonstrated. However, early postoperative oral feeding in patients with upper gastrointestinal surgery has been avoided because of concerns regarding anastomotic leakage. We investigated whether early postoperative oral feeding was advantageous for upper gastrointestinal anastomosis in comparison to parenteral feeding with a fasting period.

Male Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to the same surgical manipulation, i.e., venous catheterization, gastrostomy, and proximal jejunal anastomosis. Rats were divided into two groups: the enteral nutrition (EN) group, which received nutrients via gastrostomy as a substitute for oral feeding, and the total parental nutrition (TPN) group, which was fed via a venous catheter. Identical nutritional solutions were administered to the two groups immediately after surgery. The anastomotic bursting pressure (ABP) and the content of hydroxyproline in the anastomotic tissue were measured 5 days postoperatively.

The ABP in the EN group was significantly higher than that in the TPN group (214.6 +/- 42 versus 149.5 +/- 49 mmHg; p < 0.01). The hydroxyproline content in the EN group was also significantly higher (63.5 +/- 10 versus 50.5 +/- 12 micromol/g dry tissue; p < 0.01).

Early enteral feeding via gastrostomy accelerated jejunal anastomotic healing in comparison to parenteral feeding. This study clearly indicates that early oral feeding after upper gastrointestinal surgery leads to prompt anastomotic healing.