Nutrition Support in Surgical Oncology

At a Nestle Nutrition Institute satellite symposium held at the Digestive Disorder Federation 2012 congress (DDF) chaired by Dr William Allum, leading experts discussed the important role that nutrition plays in the management of patients undergoing upper GI surgery. Dr Christophe Mariette explained the importance of nutrition in surgery treatment plans and assessed the evidence for pre-operative immunonutrition in decreasing the risk of post-operative infection, reducing the length of hospital stay and costs. Dr Clare Shaw discussed nutritional aspects of Enhanced Recovery Programmes involving pre-operative immunonutrition and carbohydrate loading.