The critical role of nutritional support in trauma, major operations, re-operative surgery, and cancer care revisited

Nutritional support is vital for critically ill patients, as it plays a crucial role in mitigating physiological stress and metabolic disruptions associated with severe illness. Conditions such as inflammation and trauma increase metabolic demands, thus heightening the risk of malnutrition if not properly managed. Effective nutritional interventions enhance immune function, promote healing, and facilitate overall recovery, which is underscored in this collection of reviews on surgical care. As the editors of this focused review on nutritional support, we express our gratitude to the European Surgery editorial board for entrusting us with this important task and for their decision to re-examine this critical issue. In this issue, we invited authors from various countries to assess the status of nutritional support for surgical patients. We acknowledge the authors for their rigorous analyses, which offer valuable insights that will guide future approaches to nutritional management in surgical contexts and enrich the discourse on nutrition’s role in recovery and improved surgical outcomes. …