Fast track management of colorectal surgery

A research team from China compared the fast-track rehabilitation program and conventional care for patients after resection of colorectal cancer. The study showed that the fast-track rehabilitation program can significantly decrease the complications and shorten the time of postoperative hospital stay of patients after resection colorectal cancer.

The concept of fast track rehabilitation program has been recently introduced in colorectal surgery. It is basically a multidisciplinary perioperative care strategy for patients after resection of colorectal cancer.

A research article to be published on February 7, 2011 in the World Journal of Gastroenterology addresses this question. The authors compared the complications, restoration of gastrointestinal functions, and hospital stay time of postoperative colorectal cancer patients after fast-track rehabilitation program and conventional care.

The results indicate that fast-track rehabilitation program can significantly accelerate the restoration of gastrointestinal function and reduce the postoperative complications as well as hospital stay time of patients after resection of colorectal cancer.