HomeLifestyleHealth & FitnessChewing gum post-heart surgery may speed up the recovery of gut function

Chewing gum post-heart surgery may speed up the recovery of gut function

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A new study, presented today at the 18th Annual Perioperative and Critical Care Conference from The Society of Thoracic Surgeons, says that after cardiac surgery, Chewing gum could kickstart the digestive tract, help patients feel better and potentially be discharged sooner than those who don’t use this generally safe and simple intervention.

“Prior to our study, there were no previously published studies looking at the use of chewing gum in cardiac surgery patients, but we found that it may accelerate the return of gut function. This easy-to-implement intervention can be used with almost all patients in the postoperative setting,” says Sirivan S. Seng, MD, Resident Physician, Crozer-Chester Medical Center in Upland, Pennsylvania.

Dr. Seng and colleagues looked at Crozer-Chester Medical Center patients who had elective open heart surgery, aortic valve replacement, or mitral valve repair/replacement. One group included 341 patients who had surgery between 2017 and 2020 and followed the sugarless chewing gum routine afterwards.

The second group of 496 individuals underwent comparable cardiac surgery between 2013 and 2016, but did not eat gum afterwards.

The study discovered that only two of the gum-chewing patients (0.59 percent) had confirmed postoperative ileus, whereas 17 patients (3.43 percent) in the non-gum chewing group developed postoperative ileus; a lack of normal muscle contractions in the intestines that leads to a buildup and potential blockage of food material.

According to Dr. Seng, this short shutdown of the digestive system is one of the more common problems following cardiac surgery, happening in up to 5.5 percent of patients. While ileus is rarely a serious health problem, it can cause abdominal cramps, bloating, nausea, vomiting, constipation, and trouble eating a typical diet. As a result, patients may face discomfort, sluggish recovery, and extended hospital stays, increasing the physical, emotional, and financial load on patients.

“An underappreciated concern after cardiac surgery is the development of an ileus or a slow return of bowel function,” said Rakesh C. Arora, MD, PhD, from St. Boniface Hospital in Winnipeg, MB, Canada, who was not directly involved in this research.

“The notion that something as simple as chewing gum after heart surgery could minimize this problem is highly appealing. In hundreds of patients undergoing cardiac surgery who were given one piece of gum to chew after recovering off the ventilator, fewer than 1 in 100 patients developed an ileus. This was a striking nearly 5-fold reduction compared to the historical average. This anticipated study will be highly discussed with much to chew on!”

Chewing gum is said to stimulate the intestines by tricking them into thinking food is on its way. This is referred to as “sham feeding,” which refers to any practice that mimics normal food consumption but in which food and drink are neither digested nor absorbed.

Postoperative gum chewing, according to the researchers, is an effective and low-cost technique that helps patients feel better after surgery. Patients who feel better are more likely to participate in their own recoveries and, as a result, to be discharged sooner.

“Given the minimal risk and extremely trivial cost of this intervention, the incorporation of chewing gum following cardiac surgery should be strongly considered as a new standard of care,” said Dr. Seng.

“Talk to your surgeon about considering using chewing gum after surgery. Almost everyone can benefit from an affordable, tasty, and refreshing pack of gum.”

Image Credit: iStock

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