Efficacy of Supplemental Diet Gels for Preventing Postoperative Weight Loss in Mice (Mus musculus)

This study investigated whether the use of commercially available diet gels prevented the postoperative weight loss associated with major survival surgery in mice. C57BL/6 mice were divided into 3 groups (n = 9 per group) that received moistened chow pellets alone or with one of 2 commercially available diet gels. Mice began receiving the test diets 3 d before surgery (baseline) and were weighed daily for 7 d after surgery. On day 0, mice underwent ventral midline laparotomy, during which the intestines were manipulated for 2 min and a segment of jejunum was briefly clamped. Compared with the baseline value for the same group, body weights for the mice that received moistened chow only were significantly lower on all postoperative days (days 1 through 7). In contrast, body weights of mice that received both moistened chow and diet gel differed from baseline only on days 2 and 3 for one product and were never different from baseline for the other product. This study indicates that the combination of diet gel and moistened chow prevented or mitigated postoperative weight loss after a laparotomy procedure in mice.