[Early jejunal catheter feeding in heavy gastrointestinal surgery (author's transl)]

Fifty patients undergoing extensive gastrointestinal surgery were fed through a jejunal catheter introduced during the operation. After surgery, feeding was started 48 hours, except for 10 patients who had pre-operative intestinal obstruction or a suture below the site of liquid food instillation. The decision to feed patients enterally must by taken during surgery, and the method requires a trained nursing team, but it considerably improves the patient's nitrogen balance and, accessorily, his comfort. There does not seem to be any contra-indication. The onset of enteral feeding only depends upon the type of operation performed.