Morphologic Alterations Associated With Mechanical Bowel Preparation Before Elective Colorectal Surgery: A Randomized Trial

Abstract

Mechanical bowel preparation is associated with structural alteration and inflammatory changes in the large bowel wall. Although bowel wall inflammation is a known risk factor for anastomotic leak, it remains to be elucidated whether these changes have a direct relation to the deleterious effect of mechanical bowel preparation in terms of abdominal morbidity.