Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) is a care plan used with some surgeries that helps patients, caregivers and care providers plan and prepare for surgery together.
What is ERAS?
Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) is a care plan. Surgeries that use ERAS include instructions for you and your health-care team to follow before, during and after surgery. Evidence shows these instructions often help patients:
- Feel better sooner
- Lower the chance of complications
- Have a shorter hospital stay and home earlier
We are gradually expanding ERAS across VCH surgical services.
Some procedures are not yet part of the ERAS program because we are rolling it out in stages. This ensures each pathway is carefully developed, tested and supported by the right training, equipment, and care processes before it is introduced.
Regardless of whether your procedure is part of ERAS, you will still receive high quality, safe and patient-centred care. As new ERAS pathways are completed, they will be added to our program.
If you have questions about whether your surgery is part of ERAS, please speak with your care team- we are happy to help.
What to expect
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Before surgery
- Read the ERAS education booklet before your surgery. Find a list of ERAS surgeries and the booklets at the bottom of this page.
Bring this booklet to your Pre-Admission Clinic appointment, during your hospital stay and when you visit your family doctor or nurse practitioner. - Follow the instructions to drink only clear juice.
Bring sugar-free chewing gum to the hospital on the day of surgery. Chewing gum after the surgery will help "wake up " your digestive system.
- Read the ERAS education booklet before your surgery. Find a list of ERAS surgeries and the booklets at the bottom of this page.
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During surgery
The health-care team will care for you during surgery using the ERAS care plan.
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After surgery
Eat and drink as soon as you and your health-care team feel it is safe to do so.
Sit in a chair as soon as you and your health-care team feel it is safe to do so.
Walk to the bathroom and hallway as soon as you and your health-care team feel it is safe to do so.ERAS patient experience survey
If you would like to complete a five-minute survey about your the ERAS surgery experience program at Vancouver Coastal Health, access the survey through the link below. Your feedback will help us improve future care for patients.
Surgeries that use the ERAS plan
The following surgeries at VCH hospitals follow the ERAS care plan. For all other Patient Health Education Materials available from VCH, visit the Patient Health Education Materials online resource catalogue
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Vancouver General Hospital (VGH)
The following surgeries at VGH use ERAS. Click on the surgery to access the ERAS booklet. These booklets can help you understand your surgery and give you information to help plan for your recovery. The booklets include detailed information about managing pain and post-operative nausea.
- Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion (ACDF) 1-2 Levels Spine Surgery
- Colon resection (also available in Simplified Chinese)
- Cytoreductive Surgery with or with Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy (HIPEC)
- Deep Inferior Epigastric Perforator (DIEP) Breast Reconstruction Surgery
- Gastrectomy
- Gynecologic oncology surgery
- Liver resection (liver surgery)
- Confirmed or suspected lung cancer
- Metoidioplasty
- MIS Mitral Valve Repair/Replacement
- Nephrectomy/ Nephroureterecomy
- Pancreas resection
- Phalloplasty
- Posterior thoraco-lumbar-sacral 1-3 levels fusion and or revision (Spine Surgery)
- Radical cystectomy
- Retroperitoneal lymph node dissection (RPLND)
- Robotically-Assisted Minimally Invasive Direct Coronary Artery Bypass (MIDCAB)
- Transoral Robotic Surgery +/- Neck Dissection
- Vaginoplasty
- Vulvoplasty
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Lions Gate Hospital (LGH)
The following surgeries at LGH use ERAS. Click on the surgery to access the ERAS booklet. These booklets can help you understand your surgery and give you information to help plan for your recovery. The booklets include detailed information about managing pain and post-operative nausea.
- Before, During and After Hip and Knee Replacement Surgery (also available in Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Farsi and Punjabi)
- Colon resection (Also available in Simplified Chinese)
- Gastrectomy
- Hip fracture
- Hip replacement (Also available in Traditional Chinese and Punjabi)
- Knee replacement (Also available in Traditional Chinese and Punjabi)
- Radical cystectomy
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Richmond Hospital (RH)
The following surgeries at RH use ERAS. Click on the surgery to access the ERAS booklet. These booklets can help you understand your surgery and give you information to help plan for your recovery. The booklets include detailed information about managing pain and post-operative nausea.
- Before, During and After Hip and Knee Replacement Surgery (also available in Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Farsi and Punjabi)
- Colon resection (Also available in Simplified Chinese)
- Endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm repair surgery
- Gynecologic surgery
- Nephrectomy/ Nephroureterecomy
- Radical cystectomy
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UBC Hospital (UBCH)
The following surgeries at UBCH use ERAS. Click on the surgery to access the ERAS booklet. These booklets can help you understand your surgery and give you information to help plan for your recovery. The booklets include detailed information about managing pain and post-operative nausea.
Patient education video
Access the ERAS video below to learn the patient journey. You can also access a video on the patient's perspective on their experience with ERAS or access the ERAS patient journey infographic.
Contact
Please email eras@vch.ca for questions or feedback. If you would like to complete a five-minute survey about the ERAS program at Vancouver Coastal Health, access the survey through the link below. Your feedback will help improve future care for patients.
Find this service near you
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Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) at Lions Gate Hospital
231 East 15th Street North Vancouver -
Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) at Richmond Hospital
7000 Westminster Highway Richmond -
Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) at UBC Hospital
2211 Wesbrook Mall Vancouver -
Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) at Vancouver General Hospital
899 West 12th Avenue Vancouver
