The need for routine nasogastric-tube decompression after gastrointestinal surgery has been challenged repeatedly for several years. To determine whether nasogastric intubation can be omitted routinely, 101 consecutive patients who underwent gastrointestinal surgery were managed prospectively without nasogastric tubes. Excluded were patients with complete bowel obstruction and those who required prolonged endotracheal intubation. These patients were compared with 101 retrospective controls who had nasogastric decompression routinely. There were four protocol violations in the prospective group (nasogastric tubes were left in place postoperatively) and one in the retrospective group (no nasogastric tube postoperatively), leaving 97 and 100 patients, respectively, for follow-up. The mean duration of hospitalization in comparable patients was 10.6 days in patients without decompression and 11.9 days in those with routine decompression. Subsequent nasogastric-tube insertion was required in nine patients who did not undergo routine decompression, compared with two patients who had routine decompression. There were no statistically significant differences in the rates of anastomotic leaks, wound disruptions and pulmonary or other complications between the two groups. The authors conclude that nasogastric decompression can be safely omitted as a routine part of postoperative care after gastrointestinal surgery.