Juicy Fruit is Gonna Move Ya

Yesterday we mentioned that Governor Pataki was having, er, difficulties after his appendectomy last week. We just wanted to share with the Governor's staff a new study from the Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital in California. Apparently chewing gum after intestinal surgery can help get one's bowels moving and can get them home from the hospital sooner. After any abdominal surgery, especially one in which the bowels are disturbed, the intestines can slow down or simply stop moving, a condition known as paralytic ileus. The study, published in the Archives of Surgery, shows that chewing gum three times a day could stimulate nerves and release hormones that can get the pipes moving again. Maybe the Governor can get some gum and then get back to work.

Update: Pataki has been moved to Manhattan's own New York Presbyterian Hospital because he needs to get things moving! No words on whether chewing gum is on the docket.