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©The Author(s) 2026. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Jan 21, 2026; 32(3): 114048
Published online Jan 21, 2026. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v32.i3.114048
Published online Jan 21, 2026. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v32.i3.114048
Integrative acupoint stimulation within enhanced recovery after surgery: Harnessing the neuroimmune axis for enhanced gastrointestinal recovery
Gang Wang, Department of General Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou 215006, Jiangsu Province, China
Sheng-Jie Pan, Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou 215006, Jiangsu Province, China
Co-corresponding authors: Gang Wang and Sheng-Jie Pan.
Author contributions: Wang G and Pan SJ served as co-corresponding authors. Wang G contributed to the conceptualization, methodology, literature review, and writing - original draft; Pan SJ contributed to the critical revision, writing - review & editing, and supervision.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Gang Wang, MD, PhD, Professor, Department of General Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, No. 899 Pinghai Road, Suzhou 215006, Jiangsu Province, China. 286651551@qq.com
Received: September 10, 2025
Revised: October 23, 2025
Accepted: December 2, 2025
Published online: January 21, 2026
Processing time: 128 Days and 9.9 Hours
Revised: October 23, 2025
Accepted: December 2, 2025
Published online: January 21, 2026
Processing time: 128 Days and 9.9 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: Integrative acupoint stimulation, combining meridian flow injection and transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation, enhances postoperative gastrointestinal recovery within enhanced recovery after surgery protocols by modulating the neuroimmune axis. This approach accelerates return of bowel function, attenuates stress hormone surges, reduces complications, and improves patient satisfaction. By bridging traditional therapies with modern mechanistic understanding, it exemplifies a precision supportive care strategy in gastrointestinal surgery and highlights the potential of multimodal perioperative interventions to optimize recovery, resilience, and long-term outcomes.