RECOMMENDED NUTRITIONAL MODIFICATION FOR SURGICAL PATIENTS IN GWARINMPA GENERAL HOSPITAL, ABUJA

ABSTRACT
Nutrition as a branch of medical science has always been thought of belonging the realms of dieticiansand their kitchens. Little do surgeons realize that the recovery of a patient after a major surgical insult is more dependent on the internal resources of the body than on external factors like antibiotics, etc. A nutritionally deprived patient cannot mount an adequate response against infection and the surgical outcome is hence likely to be sub-optimal. Complications such as intestinal anastomosis leakage, wound dehiscence and overwhelming sepsis are more common in patients with malnutrition. Institution of proper nutrition therapy, at the correct time, along with antibiotics and other supportive therapy will often tip the balance in favor of the patient. Gone are the days when adequate nutritional support was synonymous with a special diet being sent up from the hospital kitchen. Newer modalities like parenteral nutrition and enteral tube nutrition have revolutionized nutritional support. A word of caution, however: in spite of all the advances in high-tech nutritional support, the modality of nutritional support that ultimately helps the patient most is still oral nutrition. Parenteral nutrition comes with its own baggage of adverse effects with may often negate the beneficial effects of nutritional support.

Statement of the Problem
Speculation about the role of nutrition in preoperative care, in the response of the body to surgery, and in postoperative reparatory processes, has provoked a vast amount of research on the problem. The surgeon faces this problem daily, as he prepares patients for operation, or directs their postoperative care. Fortunately, he can maintain most of his patients before and after surgery on a plan of nutritional therapy dictated by empirical knowledge and common sense. Modern concepts of nutritional care, however, are additional safeguards to his work. With them, he can shorten his patients’ convalescence. They enable him to perform certain procedures, formerly difficult and dangerous, with reasonable assurance of success. Proper application of established principles in the field of nutrition in surgery brings rewards in lowered mortality rates, diminished morbidity, and rapid recovery. Failure to observe these principles weakens the effectiveness of brilliant technical skill, increases surgical risk, and delays the patient’s return to a useful, productive life. In a brief survey of nutrition in surgery, it is impossible to outline all the basic factors. This discussion deals primarily with the parts played by proteins, carbohydrates, fats and vitamins. Metabolism of these elements goes hand in hand with fluid and electrolyte balance, and the surgeon should not consider them separately in practice. Therefore it’s essential for surgical patients to be looked out for before and after operation for quick recovery, that’s why the researcher chose the study recommended nutritional modification for surgical patients.

1.3 Aim and Objectives of the Study
The main aim for this study is to recommend nutritional modification for surgical patients in Gwarinmpa general hospital, Abuja.
The specific objectives are to:
i. Identify the benefits of nutritional modification for surgical patients.
ii. Examine the challenges surgical patients face due to lack of modified nutrients.
iii. Determine ways for correcting the challenges surgical patients facedue to lack of modified nutrients.