Abstract
Dietitians and nutritionists play a key role in optimizing the nutritional status of the patients before and after performing surgery. The importance of nutrition is often overlooked because health professionals lack knowledge about nutritional problems, structured protocols for cooperation between surgeons and clinical nutritionists do not exist, dedicated resources are lacking, and preoperative and postoperative nutrition care protocols have not been disseminated. The purpose of this review is to describe various nutrition care guidelines for use during preoperative and postoperative periods for surgical patients to enhance recovery after surgery based on a review of the literature. It should help nutritionists and surgeons to make appropriate decisions on the management during preoperative and postoperative care, as well as facilitating the understanding and application of medical nutrition therapy.