Enhanced Recovery After Surgery: Is It Time to Change Our Strategy Regarding Laparoscopic Colectomy?

Enhanced recovery after surgery or 'fast-track' methods are evidence-based protocols designed to standardize post-operative medical care, improve patient outcomes, promote early recovery, and reduce healthcare expenditure. Fast-track surgery is a multifunctional concept involving pre-, peri- and post-operative measures aiming to reduce the length of hospital stay and morbidity and complication rates, following elective abdominal surgery. Through the optimization of peri-operative care and the recovery process in adherence to these fast-track protocols, improved outcomes are reached, surgical trauma and post-operative stress are reduced, with less surgical pain, reduced complications, and shorter length of hospital stay. Fast-track care requires a multidisciplinary collaboration of all healthcare professionals, as well as a high rate of protocol compliance and a good organizational structure. Despite the existing evidence of the benefits of fast-track protocols in a variety of surgical procedures and the similar outcomes of laparoscopic colonic surgery compared to open surgery, clear evidence of the benefits of fast-track care after laparoscopic colonic surgery is yet to be clearly demonstrated.