Papers of the Week

The ERAS (Enhanced Recovery After Surgery) protocol, originated in the 1990s when two groups of researchers presented different proposals to improve the postoperative evolution of patients undergoing elective surgery. In 2001, the ERAS group was organized, consisting of different surgery units from northern Europe (Scotland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and the Netherlands). This group made a consensus that they called the ERAS project, characterized by a multimodal rehabilitation program for surgically operated patients on ascheduled basis. The protocol includes a combination of preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative strategies based on scientific evidence. That improves the recovery and functionality of patients after the surgical event minimizes the response to surgical stress. Besides, this action on factors involved in the biological response to aggression impacts postoperative complications and decreases hospital stay and hospitalization costs. The professionals in charge of the patient are responsible for three key elements that affect the outcome after surgery: the first is the control of stress reactions to surgery, the second is fluid therapy, and the third is analgesia. The trimodal approach leads to improving the results in urological surgery, such as radical cystectomy.