Faster Return to Daily Activities and Better Pain Control: A Prospective Study of Enhanced Recovery After Surgery Protocol in Breast Augmentation.

[BACKGROUND] Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) has been proven to decrease the amount of opioid use and reduce postoperative pain for a variety of surgeries, including breast reconstruction. However, data on ERAS in breast augmentation is lacking.

[OBJECTIVES] This study aims to investigate the effectiveness and safety of ERAS for breast augmentation.

[METHODS] A standardized ERAS protocol was established with full consideration of all aspects of perioperative care. Patients undergoing implant-based breast augmentation were prospectively recruited between December 2020 and January 2023, and assigned to either the ERAS or non-ERAS group randomly. The primary outcome was the activity of daily living after surgery. The secondary was postoperative pain and other outcomes included time to freely elevation, vomiting frequency, the use of analgesics, and complications.

[RESULTS] A total of 122 patients were included, with 70 in the ERAS group and 52 in the non-ERAS group. Compared to non-ERAS patients, ERAS patients had a shorter time to freely elevation of upper limbs (2.3 d vs. 5.5 d, P < 0.001). For ERAS patients, the pain scores were significantly lower on postoperative days 1 to 3, the activity of daily living index was significantly higher on postoperative days 1 to 3 and the opioids consumption was decreased (7.1 mg vs. 46.2 mg, P = 0.018). No difference was observed in complication and hospital costs between the two groups.

[CONCLUSION] The ERAS protocol significantly reduced postoperative pain and the use of opioids and promoted a return to daily activities without increasing complications in breast augmentation.

[LEVEL OF EVIDENCE IV] This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 .