Enhanced recovery in spine surgery

Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) is a multidisciplinary patient-centred process. It aims to control surgical stress in order to decrease the incidence of postoperative complications and to shorten hospital stay. The first model developed in abdominal surgery, has been extended to other surgical procedures. In orthopaedics, it concerns hip and knee replacement. Patients scheduled for spine surgery can also be elected for ERAS. The process is modified to take into account the specificity relative to the surgical procedure and its consequences. Reducing surgical stress is driven by active participation of the patient to his own care that has been anticipated preoperatively.