Bowel Preparation Impact on the Intestinal Microbiome: Oral Preparation vs Enema

Mechanical bowel preparation for left-sided colorectal surgery remains standard in most cases. However, there are some discrepancies on how to prepare the bowl, while rectal enema and oral agents are both available methods. The knowledge of intestinal microbiome role on surgical outcomes is increasing, since few recent reports linked microbiome composition to postoperative complications, such as anastomotic insufficiency. Although, it is not clear how the bowel preparation affects the gut microbiome. Therefore, different bowel preparation techniques impact on gut microbiome will be studied.