Postoperative ileus (POI) is a common problem after major abdominal surgery. Acupuncture is being accepted in the West as a treatment option for managing POI and various functional gastrointestinal disorders. Therefore, we conducted a prospective randomized pilot study to evaluate the effect of electro-acupuncture on POI and other surgical outcomes in patients who underwent gastric surgery for a later large-scale study.

Before surgery, patients were randomized (using simple randomization) to either acupuncture (A) group or non-acupuncture (NA) group. In both groups, sitz markers were inserted in duodenum or jejunum during surgery for detection of postoperative remnant sitz markers by Xray. In the A group, acupuncture treatment was given once daily for up to 5 consecutive days starting on postoperative day 1. The acupuncture points which were used were based on traditional Korean medicine. No acupuncture treatment was performed in the NA group.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Patients undergoing elective surgery for gastric cancers
• Patients with American Society of Anesthesiologists grades I-III
• Patients who provided written informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

• Patients who developed intraoperative problems or complications
• Patients with contraindications to had electrical stimulation devices (pacemaker or implantable defibrillator)
• Patients who were allergic to acupuncture needle