Microbiome science emerging as surgical ‘friend,’ no longer foe

Susannah E. Nicholson, MD, FACS, MSCI San Antonio, TX While a great effort is made to kill or contain microbes in and around surgery, understanding of the salutary impact of microbiome science on surgical outcomes is growing, as a panel explored Tuesday. Dr. Nicholson discusses her own work, in which major adverse change in gut microbiome was found within 30 minutes of trauma, with implications for timing of blood transfusion.