Gastrointestinal pacing as a treatment of postoperative ileus following extensive surgery for peritoneal metastases - A prospective blinded randomized controlled clinical trial.

Background: Almost 10% of colorectal cancer patients present with or recur with peritoneal metastases. Currently, the only treatment with curative intent is extensive cytoreductive surgery (CRS) followed by hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC). More than half of patients undergoing CRS and HIPEC develop prolonged postoperative ileus (POI), defined as more than 5 days without gastrointestinal (GI) function. POI represents a major clinical challenge as it causes nausea, vomiting, stomach cramps and general discomfort for the patient. Currently no efficient treatment exists.