Enhanced Recovery After Surgery Pathways in Breast Reconstruction

The Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) protocol is a multidisciplinary, multimodal, and evidence-based approach to perioperative management. The ERAS pathway has been applied to numerous major surgical procedures throughout various specialties and has shown reduced postoperative morbidity, reduced opioid use, higher patient satisfaction, and shortened hospital length of stay. In the current health care climate, there has been a growing focus on optimizing the quality of care for patients and reducing the overall cost burden of health care. In this article, the authors review the ERAS pathways for breast reconstruction procedures and discuss the outcomes of implementation of these pathways.