Enhanced AHS program allows breast reconstruction patients to recover quicker

Thanks to the expansion of a program, many Calgary women undergoing mastectomy breast reconstruction are heading home from the hospital sooner.

The Enhanced Recovery After Surgery program, or ERAS, was first introduced in 2013 at two Alberta hospitals for patients undergoing colorectal surgery.

Through ERAS, patients are given anti-nausea and anti-inflammatory medications before surgery, and different types of anesthetics and pain medications both during and after the surgery.

The recovery period has proved to be quick in some patients’ cases.

One woman underwent a double mastectomy and reconstruction with implants, and was shocked to learn she would be sent home the same day.

Dr. Claire Temple-Oberle, plastic surgeon at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre at Foothills Medical Centre, says the feedback from women who have gone through this process has been positive.

“There’s always that feeling that there’s a safety by staying in the hospital and having the doctors and nurses around, but, in fact, it’s a better recovery experience if one is at home, provided the right support is in place,” said Dr. Temple-Oberle.

Alberta Health Services says planning is underway to ensure ERAS can be offered to breast reconstruction patients across the province.

More than 350 mastectomies and breast reconstruction surgeries are performed every year at Foothills Medical Centre.

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