Enhanced Recovery After Surgery Program for Radical Cystectomy

Abstract

Even with advances in perioperative medical care, anesthetic management, and surgical techniques, radical cystectomy (RC) which remains the gold standard therapy for the treatment of muscle-invasive bladder cancer, yet is still associated with a high morbidity rate as well as a prolonged length of hospitalization (LOH). Recently, there has been a great deal of interest in developing multimodal and multidisciplinary strategies that might aid in the acceleration postoperative convalescence by decreasing variance in perioperative care for patients having complex operations. Many patient series have shown that Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) protocols can improve outcomes in patients having RC by reducing the incidence of gastrointestinal complications and the LOH without increasing readmissions or overall morbidity. Many studies are going to evaluate and incorporate scientific data in ERAS program to modify as many of the variables leading to RC morbidity, as well as to enhance how patients are cared for before and after operation. In this review, we offer a summary of the preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative key components of undergoing an ERAS protocol for patients undergoing RC, as well as future research prospects.