purpose of pureed diet after surgery?

So my husband is one week out today.  We tried pureed stuff the third day out and he had NO problem but just didn't like it so he started taking some soft foods.  NO problem whatsoever.  So now he's already moved on to some regular food and is just chewing it very well.  Today he ate 1/2 a ham and cheese sandwich (peeled away almost all the bread.)  Again, no problem.  He can take a whole protein shake in about an hours time with no struggles.  He's had no nausea at all and hasn't taken his pepcid.  I remember getting very little down at first.  Should I be concerned or is this just a great thing that he's doing so well?  Is there any danger in him slowly eating soft or regular foods in moderation this early?  Examples of what he's eaten so far:  eggs with cheese, chopped apples and mushed bananas, chili, fried cheese with tomatoe sauce, yogurt, french onion dip, sugar free pudding, peanut butter, chicken salad

 I progressed quicker than suggested. However, I listened very closely to my body. If something didn't settle well with the first bite then I stopped. I ate with a stopwatch so that I wouldn't eat to fast. It is scary when one does better than expected because I think we have failed at so many other attempts at weight loss that we are waiting for the shoe to drop. Best of luck to him. Listen and take it slow is the best advice I can give, but I am only 5 months out.

The purpose of the pureed diet is the same as giving a baby baby food insterad of, say, raw apples. Tender new tummy!

Seriously, your husband's stomch has just been sliced apart and sewn back together. The way the stomach works is to contract and relax, churning and mixing our food with gastric juices and concintuing the mechanical breakdown that began with chewing. Putting something too hard in a freshly-sewn stomach could result in tearing loose staples---which could result in a leak, which could result in...death.

 To allow the suture/staple lines to heal and form scar tissue so you don't cause a tear...  It's pretty important.

 I don't see a problem with it.  I was on soft foods when I came home and told eat what I felt like eating, but erring on the side of soft, and try only one new thing at a time to see how my body reacted.  I think hubby is a lucky boy!  I hope the rest of his recovery goes just as well.

 It's all about the Val-trac ring.  If your H's surgeon used one in the intestinal anastamosis, he needs to be on pureed/soft foods for at least three weeks.  If there was no ring used, there's really no reason for the food progression except to let the patient get accustomed to their new anatomy and no do too much too fast.

Mucosal-type tissues heal really fast and are usually OK way before you even feel well enough to think about food.  But like I said, if the ring was used, back off right away!