Gut microbiota and surgical disease

Why should surgeons study gut microbiota and microbiome (totality of body’s microorganisms and genomes)? There are at least three reasons. With the advent of new ways of analyzing gut microbiome it may soon be possible to use in diagnosis of clinical conditions. Secondly, knowledge of microbiome will give insights into the pathophysiology of trauma and surgical conditions and thirdly, new microbiome-based therapies are emerging.