Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) is a new area in veterinary and human medicine, and one of its leaders in veterinary medicine is Luis Campoy, MRCVS, chief of anesthesiology and pain medicine at Cornell.
ERAS is a new way of looking at getting pets back to their normal routine faster. Areas considered are how long pets need to be fasted and whether pets should be getting medications to reduce stomach acid when they are fasted pre-surgery.
The main area of focus, however, is using nerve blocks to assist in pain management without oral medications, reducing the use of systemic opioid medications that can have side effects and hopefully shortening hospital stays.
The emphasis on regional and local nerve blocks has been researched primarily for orthopedic surgeries at this time. Their application to soft-tissue surgery patients is currently being investigated.
Many of the nerve-block treatments rely on ultrasound for exact placement of the blocking agents. This is an emerging area in medicine, and veterinarians may need special courses to fine tune techniques. Still, it’s exciting because it holds many benefits for pets in the future.ν
JAVMA November 2022 Vol 260 No. 14 “Development of Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) protocols in veterinary medicine through a one-health approach: the role of anesthesia and locoregional techniques”
