Lay summary
The gut is an organ that is sensitive to its manual handling during surgery and to overall body health status. One of its responses to local insult or illness is to stop moving, a state that is called ileus. When this happens its ability to absorb nutrients and fluid is compromised. This state is very common in patients and contributes to longer hospital stays as well as considerable patient impact. We have devised a new therapeutic paradigm to investigate that we think will change the way ileus is prevented or treated.