Recovery of gastrointestinal motility following open versus laparoscopic colon resection in dogs

The recovery of gastrointestinal motility was compared in dogs undergoing either laparoscopic or open sigmoidectomy, During surgery, bipolar recording electrodes were placed on the proximal and distal antrum, mid- and distal colon, and the rectum. Fasting myoelectric data were recorded postoperatively, Scintigraphic gastric emptying studies employing a solid test meal were performed before and after [postoperative day (POD) 2] operation. Ten radiopaque markers were given just before operation and retained markers were counted daily by abdominal x-ray, Gastric emptying on POD 2 was significantly delayed in the open group at 120 min compared with preoperative studies for the open group and compared with the laparoscopic group on POD 2 (P < 0.05 and P < 0.01, respectively). A significant difference in the number of retained markers was observed between the groups on POD 4 (P < 0.05). There were no significant differences in slow-wave frequency, presence of dysrhythmias in the proximal and distal antrum, or presence of either discrete or continuous electrical response activity in the colon and rectum between groups on any days. We conclude that using a laparoscopic approach results in more rapid recovery of fed-state gastrointestinal motility following colon resection. These data also suggest that myoelectric activity alone is not a sensitive enough parameter to detect these differences in recovery in this animal model.