The impact of intraoperative small intestine arrangement on postoperative intestinal function recovery in patients with laparoscopic colectomy: A single-center, double-blinded, randomized controlled trial

Background This study aimed to evaluate the effect of small intestine arrangement on the bowel function after laparoscopic colectomy. Methods A total of 160 patients were randomly divided into two groups. The control group received conventional treatment, while the experimental group underwent small intestine arrangement. The primary outcome was the time to initial postoperative gas discharge. Results The experimental group showed a significant difference in the time of initial postoperative gas discharge compared to the control group (45.2 ± 19.7 vs. 54.9 ± 21.8 h, P = 0.004). Additionally, the experimental group had a significantly shorter time to first tolerability of liquid food (64.4(43.0,68.3) vs. 67.5(60.5,86.8) hours, P = 0.005). One case involved the identification of a Meckel’s diverticulum and a small intestinal stromal tumor through intervention. Conclusions Arranging the small intestine may promote the postoperative intestinal function and improve the detection of complications, thereby avoiding the potential risk of reoperation. Registration NCT05485857.