Hello, thanks for using health care magic. Absence of bowel movement or paralytic ileus after surgery is a common feature but usually last for a few days (usually 1 to 2) depending on the length of the surgery, type of surgery etc. It is due to the anesthetic effect of the anesthesia and also related to manipulation of the bowels during surgery. Most often, absence of stools or passing out gas is usually mistaken for paralytic ileus. absence of gas or stools could be due to the body being afraid to feel pain during passing out of stools or gas. Paralytic ileus s diagnose by the doctor after failing to get bowel movements on his or her stethoscope in the days following the surgery and it is not synonymous to absence of stools or gas. However, paralytic ileus requires much rehydration, prokinetic drugs such as dislep, vogalene etc. Best regards and hope this helps. Dr Achuo