An ERAS protocol for bariatric surgery: is it safe to discharge on post-operative day 1?

An ERAS protocol for bariatric surgery: is it safe to discharge on post-operative day 1?

Lam J et al. An ERAS protocol for bariatric surgery: is it safe to discharge on post-operative
day 1? Surg Endosc. 2019 Feb;33(2):580-586.

What is already known:

The ERAS society published guidelines for Bariatric surgery in 2016 [they can be found here]. Bariatric surgery has been shown to help improve or resolve many obesity-related conditions, such as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, and more. Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy is one of the most commonly performed bariatric operations in the USA.

What this paper adds:

This was a single centre retrospective review of their programme after it had been introduced. They included over 200 patients and with a comprehensive ERAS pathway they showed that after laparoscopic surgery patients could be safely discharged on postoperative day 1. With no difference in readmission rates, post-operative complications or mortality. They also found with a good multimodal analgesic programme they could reduce intraoperative opioid use and still reduced pain scores on postoperative day 1.

Chris Jones, Guildford.