Gum chewing promotes bowel motility after a radical retropubic prostatectomy

To investigate the efficacy of gum chewing in aiding the recovery of bowel motility after a radical retropubic prostatectomy

Thirty-seven patients who underwent retropubic radical prostatectomy from January 2010 to February 2012 for localized prostate cancer were enrolled. They were divided, in an alternate pattern, into the gum-chewing group and the control group. Patient demographics and operative outcomes were compared. The time to first postoperative passage of flatus and bowel movement, the duration of hospital stay and the side effects were recorded.

The patients' demographics and operative outcomes showed no differences between the control (n = 19) and gum-chewing (n = 18) groups. The time to flatus was significantly shorter in the gum-chewing group than in the control group (27.1 vs 39.8 h), and the time-to-first bowel movement was faster in gum-chewing patients (46.1 vs 60.7 h). Surgical hospital stay was shorter in gum-chewing group than in the control group (5.1 vs 6.4 days).

Gum chewing has a positive effect on the recovery of bowel motility and reduction of surgical hospital stay after a radical prostatectomy. Although retropubic radical prostatectomy does not involve bowel manipulation, gum chewing is an effective and side-effect-free method for the resolution of ileus after surgery.