Enhanced Recovery After Surgery: Recovering as Comfortably and Quickly as Possible

Enhanced Recovery After Surgery: Recovering as Comfortably and Quickly as Possible

The safety and comfort of our patients are our highest priorities.

To that end, our Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) protocol means patients are able to undergo surgery with less pain and faster recoveries than ever before. Gone are the days of “nothing to eat or drink after midnight” and the need for a load of narcotic painkillers after surgery.

We use a multipronged approach to help minimize your pain, help you avoid nausea, vomiting, or constipation, and to facilitate a rapid return to your usual activities.

Our protocol includes allowing most patients to drink clear liquids, including black coffee, up to 3 hours ahead of surgery. We administer medications that reduce pain, anxiety and nausea even before you enter the operating room. While you are asleep, our anesthesia team will continue to administer medications that have the same effect. During surgery, we deliver long-acting local anesthetics (nerve blocks) near the surgical sites to block pain pathways so that you can wake up comfortable and remain comfortable without the need for much, if any, narcotic or opioid painkillers.

Because our enhanced recovery protocol is so effective, most of our patients are able to recovery comfortably using little or no narcotic/opiate pain medication after surgery. Most women who opt for an implant reconstruction stay just overnight, and those who opt for a natural tissue reconstruction stay just 2 or 3 nights in the hospital before going home.

Dr. Greenspun has been a pioneer in bringing ERAS pathways to the hospitals at which he operates, and has given numerous presentations at medical meetings and conferences on the benefits that such interventions provide. Ahead of surgery, you will be provided with specific instructions for the ERAS protocol that is right for you.