ENHANCED RECOVERY AFTER SURGERY (ERAS): A COMPREHENSIVE SURGICAL REVIEW OF PERIOPERATIVE CARE, COMPLICATION REDUCTION, AND RECOVERY ENHANCEMENT
Keywords:
ERAS; perioperative care; postoperative complications; length of stay; multimodal analgesia; surgical outcomesAbstract
The Enhanced Recovery After Surgery, which is also known as ERAS is a way of taking care of patients before during and after surgery. This way of taking care of patients is based on a lot of research. It helps to reduce the stress of surgery on the patient. The goal of Enhanced Recovery After Surgery is to help patients get faster after a big surgery.
References
Gustafsson UO, Rockall TA, Wexner S, et al. Guidelines for perioperative care in elective colorectal surgery: Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS®) Society recommendations 2025. Surgery. 2025;184:109397. doi:10.1016/j.surg.2025.109397. PubMed link
Engelman DT, Ben Ali W, Williams JB, et al. Guidelines for perioperative care in cardiac surgery: Enhanced Recovery After Surgery Society recommendations. JAMA Surg. 2019;154(8):755-766. doi:10.1001/jamasurg.2019.1153. (Updated joint consensus in Grant MC et al., Ann Thorac Surg. 2024; doi:10.1016/j.athoracsur.2023.12.006)
Nelson G, Fotopoulou C, Taylor J, et al. Guidelines for perioperative care in gynecologic/oncology: Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS®) Society recommendations – 2019 update. Int J Gynecol Cancer. 2019;29(4):651-668. doi:10.1136/ijgc-2019-000356. (Relevant ongoing updates referenced in 2024–2025 reviews)
Sauro KM, MacKie D, Clement F, et al. Enhanced Recovery After Surgery Guidelines and Hospital Length of Stay, Readmission, Complications, and Mortality: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Clinical Trials. JAMA Netw Open. 2024;7(6):e2417310. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.17310. Full article
The doctors Spadaccio C, Salsano A, Pisani A and others did a study. They found out that the Enhanced Recovery After Surgery program or ERAS for short is really good for people who have liver surgery. ERAS helps reduce the cost of staying in the hospital and makes the outcomes of the surgery better. The doctors looked at a lot of studies to come to this conclusion. You can find this information in the World Journal of Surgery volume 48 issue 4 on pages 779 to 790 in the year 2024. The reference number, for this study is doi:10.1002/wjs.12122.
Kim SH, Choi SH, Moon J, et al. Enhanced recovery after surgery for craniotomies: A systematic review and meta-analysis. J Neurosurg Anesthesiol. 2025;37(1):11-19. doi:10.1097/ANA.0000000000000975. (Example of specialty-specific meta-analysis)
Pinho B and Costa A did a study on how using recovery after surgery guidelines can affect women who have a cesarean delivery. They looked at a lot of studies and put the information together to see what it means. This study was published in the European Journal of Obstetrics Gynecology and Reproductive Biology in 2024. The study is on pages 201, to 209.
ERAS® Society. Guidelines overview and list (accessed 2025). Available at: https://erassociety.org/guidelines/
