ePoster
Talk Description
Institution: Royal Melbourne Hospital - Victoria, Australia
Aims
Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) guidelines provide standardised, evidence‑based perioperative care. Prehabilitation aims to reduce treatment‑related complications and optimise recovery. A novel pathway combining ERAS with prehabilitation (ERAS+) was introduced in 2023 at the Royal Melbourne Hospital for patients undergoing head and neck (HN) surgery with free flap (FF) reconstruction. This study aimed to assess the feasibility of ERAS+, including demand, implementation, acceptability and limited efficacy.
Methodology
This uncontrolled before‑and‑after study included patients undergoing HN resection with FF reconstruction. Outcomes from 76 patients treated pre‑ERAS+ (January 2022–January 2023) were compared with 96 patients treated under ERAS+ (May 2023–August 2024). Feasibility was evaluated using Bowen’s Framework across demand (demographics), implementation (fidelity and prehabilitation attendance), acceptability (patient experience), and limited efficacy (clinical outcomes).
Results
Clinical outcome data from 172 patients were analysed. Median length of stay was 17.0 days [11.0–24.0] pre‑ERAS+ compared with 15.0 days [10.0–21.8] during ERAS+ (p=0.115). ERAS protocol compliance improved from 38.1% pre‑ERAS+ to 60.2% with ERAS+. Major complication rates were unchanged. Ninety percent of prescribed prehabilitation sessions were attended, with 35% of patients accessing three allied health disciplines. Forty‑eight patients completed a postoperative survey, and 93% reported feeling motivated and able to follow recommendations.
Conclusion
ERAS+ was feasible in terms of prehabilitation delivery and patient acceptability. ERAS protocol compliance improved but remained below the threshold typically associated with clinical benefit. No significant improvements in clinical outcomes were observed, highlighting the need for further refinement of ERAS and prehabilitation models in this complex surgical cohort.
Presenters
Authors
Authors
Ms Carrie Service - , Ms Alana Jones - , Ms Aruska D'Souza - , Ms Lauren Davies - , Ms Leonie Shaw - , Dr Anand Ramakrishnan -