ABSTRACT
Introduction: Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) protocols have been implemented to decrease opioid use and decrease patient hospital length of stay (LOS, days). Serratus anterior plane (SAP) blocks anesthetize the T2 through T9 dermatomes of the breast and can be applied intraoperatively. The purpose of this study was to compare postoperative opioid (OME) consumption and LOS between a control group, an ERAS group, and an ERAS/local anesthetic cocktail group in patients who underwent implant-based breast reconstruction. Methods: In this study, 142 women who underwent implant-based breast reconstruction between 2004 and 2020 were divided into Group A (46 patients), a historical cohort; Group B (73 patients), an ERAS/no-block control group; and Group C (23 patients), an ERAS/anesthetic cocktail study group. Primary outcomes of interest were postanesthesia care unit (PACU), inpatient and total hospital OME consumption, and PACU LOS. Results: A significant decrease was observed from Group A to C in PACU LOS (103.3 vs. 80.2 vs. 70.5; p = 0.011), OME use (25.1 vs. 11.4 vs. 5.7; p < 0.0001), and total hospital OME (120.3 vs. 95.2 vs. 35.9; p < 0.05). No difference was observed in inpatient OMEs between the three groups (95.2 vs. 83.8 vs. 30.8; p = 0.212). Despite not reaching statistical significance, Group C consumed an average of 50-60 % less opioids per patient than did Group B in PACU, inpatient, and total hospital OMEs. Conclusion: Local anesthetic blocks are important components of ERAS protocols. Our results demonstrate that a combination regional block with a local anesthetic cocktail in an ERAS protocol can decrease opioid consumption in implant-based breast reconstruction.
ABSTRACT
Introduction: Perioperative pain control is an important component of any plastic surgery practice. Due to the incorporation of Enhanced Recovery after Surgery (ERAS) protocols, reported pain level, opioid consumption, and hospital length of stay numbers have decreased significantly. This article provides an up-to-date review of current ERAS protocols in use, reviews individual aspects of ERAS protocols, and discusses future directions for the continual improvement of ERAS protocols and control of postoperative pain. ERAS components: ERAS protocols have proven to be excellent methods of decreasing patient pain, opioid consumption, and postanesthesia care unit (PACU) and/or inpatient length of stay. ERAS protocols have three phases: preoperative education and pre-habilitation, intraoperative anesthetic blocks, and a postoperative multimodal analgesia regimen. Intraoperative blocks consist of local anesthetic field blocks and a variety of regional blocks, with lidocaine or lidocaine cocktails. Various studies throughout the surgical literature have demonstrated the efficacy of these aspects and their relevance to the overall goal of decreasing patient pain, both in plastic surgery and other surgical fields. In addition to the individual ERAS phases, ERAS protocols have shown promise in both the inpatient and outpatient sectors of plastic surgery of the breast. Conclusion: ERAS protocols have repeatedly been shown to provide improved patient pain control, decreased hospital or PACU length of stay, decreased opioid use, and cost savings. Although protocols have most commonly been utilized in inpatient plastic surgery procedures of the breast, emerging evidence points towards similar efficacy when used in outpatient procedures. Furthermore, this review demonstrates the efficacy of local anesthetic blocks in controlling patient pain.
