Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS)-Concepts, components, and application to spine surgery

This article describes the concept of Enhanced Recovery after Surgery (ERAS) and its application to spine surgery. ERAS is a multimodal approach designed to reduce the surgical stress response and accelerate recovery following surgery. It is a multi-disciplinary, patient-centred approach that employs an evidenced-based pathway of standardised care. It has been proven across a range of surgical pathways but has yet to be defined and adopted in spine surgery. ERAS pathways are needed in spine surgery. Patient recovery is often long, painful, expensive, and a highly variable experience. Consequently, ERAS programs will find great utility in this subspecialty.