A multimodal rehabilitation program may significantly reduce the postoperative hospital stay in high-risk patients undergoing colonic resection. Such a program may also reduce postoperative ileus and cardiopulmonary complications. These results may have important implications for the care of patients after colonic surgery and in the future assessment of open versus laparoscopic colonic resection.

Functional recovery after colonic resection is rapid with a multimodal rehabilitation regimen and without differences between open and laparoscopic operation. Further large-scale studies are required on potential differences in serious morbidity and mortality.

Multimodal rehabilitation prevents reduction in lean body mass, pulmonary function, oxygenation and cardiovascular response to exercise after colonic surgery.

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Postoperative ileus and gastrointestinal transit normalized within 48 h after colonic resection in the patients who received multimodal rehabilitation. No significant difference was observed between the patients who underwent the laparoscopic procedure and those who underwent the open procedure.