My guess is that listening to bowel sounds is part of HIS adm. assessment & he's hoping you've done it for him. There's one in every crowd! And no, we don't routinely do bowel sounds in PACU- as you said, if they're a bowel case they're NPO anywa...
As a post op nurse, my biggest pet peeve is the rush for room turnover taking precedence over everything else- esp. patients!!! I'm talking about patients coming to PACU w/wet betadine on the linens, not putting peri pads on D&Cs & C-sections...