The goal of this randomized controlled clinical trial is to evaluate the role of perioperative zinc supplementation on postoperative outcomes (specifically gastrointestinal mucosal integrity and inflammation) in children aged 1 month to 18 years undergoing elective or semi-urgent colonic surgery with anastomosis.
The main questions it aims to answer are:
* Does perioperative zinc supplementation significantly optimize complete blood count (CBC) parameters, serum C-reactive protein (CRP), and serum zinc levels at 48 hours and 5 days postoperatively?
* Does zinc supplementation improve secondary clinical outcomes, such as wound healing scores on day 7, time to full enteral feeds, and length of hospital stay? Researcher will compare Group A (routine postoperative care plus perioperative zinc supplementation) to Group B (routine postoperative care only) to see if the zinc supplement enhances gut integrity, downregulates systemic inflammation, and reduces postoperative clinical complications.
Participants will:
* Undergo their scheduled elective or semi-urgent colonic surgery with anastomosis.
* Be randomly assigned to receive either routine postoperative care alone or routine care supplemented with perioperative zinc.
* Provide blood samples at baseline (preoperatively), 48 hours postoperatively, and 5 days postoperatively for sequential monitoring of CBC, CRP, and serum zinc levels.
* Undergo clinical and ward assessments during hospitalization until day 7 to monitor clinical parameters (e.g., fever, timing of passage of stool/gases) and wound healing scores.