Enhanced Recovery After Surgery
About ERAS
Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) at Massachusetts General Hospital is a patient-centered, evidence-based approach to surgical care that empowers you, the patient, to be a partner in your own care. Because all commonly performed procedures at Mass General set their standards to ERAS, you can be confident that you will receive best-known care before, during and after your procedure.
The ERAS team consists of clinicians involved in your care throughout the entire process, including pre-procedure preparation, the procedure itself, anesthesia, perioperative services, pharmacy, nursing, post-operative care and follow-up.
Each stage of ERAS is tailored to support you in your goals, such as to:
- Minimize pain
- Avoid complications
- Improve recovery after the procedure
- Decrease length of hospital stay
- Allow for earlier return to daily life, such as normal diet and exercise
Patient Education by Procedure
Prior to your procedure, your care team will provide you with instructions, prescriptions and directions for how to pick up your supplies from the Mass General Pharmacy or elsewhere.
Mass General has created a variety of materials to help you prepare for your procedure, ensure better recovery and return to normal life as soon as possible.
Select your procedure below to view the corresponding patient guide:
Cesarean Section
Cesarean section, or C-section, is a surgical procedure to deliver a baby through an incision in the mother's abdomen.
- Patient Guide:
- English (PDF)
- Spanish/Español (PDF)
- Arabic/العربيّة (PDF)
- Chinese/中文 (PDF)
- Haitian Creole/Kreyòl Ayisyen (PDF)
- Portuguese/Português (PDF)
- Russian/Pусский (PDF)
Colectomy
A colectomy is surgery to remove all or part of the colon.
- Patient Guide
- English (PDF)
- Spanish/Español (PDF)
- Arabic/العربيّة (PDF)
- Chinese/中文 (PDF)
- Haitian Creole/Kreyòl Ayisyen (PDF)
- Portuguese/Português (PDF)
- Russian/Pусский (PDF)
- Kit Pamphlets: English (PDF) or Spanish/Español (PDF)
Mass General teams shares more about how the ERAS program is designed to ensure better preparation and recovery following colorectal procedures. Below, please access these videos in multiple languages:
- English (video)
- Spanish/Español (video)
- Arabic/العربيّة (video)
- Mandarin (video)
- Portuguese/Português (video)
- Russian/Pусский (video)
View instructions in multiple languages on how to use the products that you receive prior to surgery to ensure an enhanced recovery after surgery:
- English (video)
- Spanish/Español (video)
- Haitian Creole/Kreyòl Ayisyen (video)
- Portuguese/Português (video)
Coronary Artery Bypass Graft
Coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) is a procedure used to treat coronary artery disease.
- Patient Guide: English (PDF) or Spanish/Español (PDF)
Cystectomy
A cystectomy is the surgical removal of all or part of the urinary bladder.
- Patient Guide: English (PDF) or Spanish/Español (PDF)
View instructions in multiple languages on how to use the products that you receive prior to surgery to ensure an enhanced recovery after surgery:
- English (video)
- Spanish/Español (video)
- Haitian Creole/Kreyòl Ayisyen (video)
- Portuguese/Português (video)
Gastrectomy
A gastrectomy is the surgical removal of a part or the whole of the stomach. View our patient guides, available in various languages:
- English (PDF)
- Spanish/Español (PDF)
- Arabic/العربيّة (PDF)
- Chinese/中文 (PDF)
- Haitian Creole/Kreyòl Ayisyen (PDF)
- Portuguese/Português (PDF)
- Russian/Pусский (PDF)
View instructions in multiple languages on how to use the products that you receive prior to surgery to ensure an enhanced recovery after surgery:
- English (video)
- Spanish/Español (video)
- Haitian Creole/Kreyòl Ayisyen (video)
- Portuguese/Português (video)
Hepatectomy
A hepatectomy is the surgical removal of all or part of the liver.
- Patient Guide:
- English (PDF)
- Spanish/Español (PDF)
- Arabic/العربيّة (PDF)
- Chinese/中文 (PDF)
- Haitian Creole/Kreyòl Ayisyen (PDF)
- Portuguese/Português (PDF)
- Russian/Pусский (PDF)
Hysterectomy
A hysterectomy is the surgical removal of the uterus.
Open Hysterectomy
- English (PDF)
- Spanish/Español (PDF)
- Arabic/العربيّة (PDF)
- Chinese/中文 (PDF)
- Portuguese/Português (PDF)
- Russian/Pусский (PDF)
- Haitian Creole/Kreyòl Ayisyen (PDF)
Minimally Invasive Hysterectomy
- English (PDF)
- Spanish/Español (PDF)
- Arabic/العربيّة (PDF)
- Chinese/中文 (PDF)
- Portuguese/Português (PDF)
- Russian/Pусский (PDF)
- Haitian Creole/Kreyòl Ayisyen (PDF)
Pelvic Reconstructive Surgery
- Patient Guide: English (PDF) or Spanish/Español (PDF)
View instructions in multiple languages on how to use the products that you receive prior to surgery to ensure an enhanced recovery after surgery:
- English (video)
- Spanish/Español (video)
- Haitian Creole/Kreyòl Ayisyen (video)
- Portuguese/Português (video)
Interventional Radiology
Interventional radiology uses medical imaging guidance to perform various minimally-invasive procedures.
- Patient Guide: English (PDF) or Spanish/Español (PDF)
Laminectomy
A laminectomy is a surgical procedure performed to treat central spinal stenosis, or narrowing of the spinal canal.
- Patient Guide: English (PDF) or Spanish/Español (PDF)
- Patient Guide for Occupational Therapy: English (PDF) or Spanish/Español (PDF)
Mastectomy
A mastectomy is surgery to remove all breast tissue from a breast.
- Patient Guide: English (PDF) or Spanish/Español (PDF)
Pancreatectomy
A pancreatectomy is surgery to remove part or all of the pancreas.
- Patient Guide:
- English (PDF)
- Spanish/Español (PDF)
- Arabic/العربيّة (PDF)
- Chinese/中文 (PDF)
- Haitian Creole/Kreyòl Ayisyen (PDF)
- Portuguese/Português (PDF)
- Russian/Pусский (PDF)
Temporomandibular Joint Surgery
Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) surgery may be recommended to correct TMJ disorder, which is a condition that affects the joint of the jaw.
- English (PDF)
- Spanish/Español (PDF)
- Arabic/العربيّة (PDF)
- Chinese/中文 (PDF)
- Haitian Creole/Kreyòl Ayisyen (PDF)
- Portuguese/Português (PDF)
- Russian/Pусский (PDF)
Thyroidectomy
A thyroidectomy is the surgical removal of all or part of the thyroid gland. View our patient guides, available in various languages:
- English (PDF)
- Spanish/Español (PDF)
- Arabic/العربيّة (PDF)
- Chinese/中文 (PDF)
- Haitian Creole/Kreyòl Ayisyen (PDF)
- Portuguese/Português (PDF)
- Russian/Pусский (PDF)
Weight Loss Surgery
Metabolic and bariatric surgery, or weight loss surgery, treats obesity, weight disorders and metabolic disease.
- Patient Guide:
- English (PDF)
- Spanish/Español (PDF)
- Arabic/العربيّة (PDF)
- Chinese/中文 (PDF)
- Haitian Creole/Kreyòl Ayisyen (PDF)
- Portuguese/Português (PDF)
- Russian/Pусский (PDF)
View instructions in several languages on how to use the products that you receive prior to surgery to ensure an enhanced recovery after surgery:
- English (video)
- Spanish/Español (video)
- Haitian Creole/Kreyòl Ayisyen (video)
- Portuguese/Português (video)
Other Procedures
For a number of other procedures, Mass General has created materials to support your best experience and recovery. View our patient guides, available in various languages:
- English (PDF)
- Spanish/Español (PDF)
- Arabic/العربيّة (PDF)
- Chinese/中文 (PDF)
- Haitian Creole/Kreyòl Ayisyen (PDF)
- Portuguese/Português (PDF)
- Russian/Pусский (PDF)
Enhanced Recovery Pathways by Procedure
Our surgical, anesthesia and nursing teams have designed and implemented evidence-based, multidisciplinary Enhanced Recovery pathways to improve post-procedure recovery and outcomes for patients.
View our Enhanced Recovery pathways
We are sharing our ERAS pathways as a way to foster collaboration with providers outside of Mass General.
- Cesarean Section (PDF)
- Colectomy (PDF)
- Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (PDF)
- Cystectomy (PDF)
- Interventional Radiology (PDF)
- Gastrectomy (PDF)
- Hepatectomy (PDF)
- Hysterectomy (PDF)
- Laminectomy (PDF)
- Mastectomy (PDF)
- Pancreatectomy (PDF)
- Thyroidectomy (PDF)
- Temporomandibular Joint Surgery (PDF)
- Weight Loss Surgery (PDF)
A Selection of ERAS Initiatives and Publications
- Maurer L, Moheb M, Cavallo E, Antonelli D, Linov P, Bird S, Faulkner H, del Carmen M, Qadan M, Ferrone C, Kaafarani H, Sisodia R, Ellis D. Enhanced Recovery After Surgery Patients are Prescribed Fewer Opioids at Discharge: A Propensity-Score Matched Analysis. Annals of Surgery. 2021 July 2. doi: 10.1097/SLA.0000000000005042
- Ellis D, Agarwala A, Cavallo E, Linov P, Hidrue M, del Carmen M, Sisodia, R. Implementing ERAS: How We Achieved Success Within an Anesthesia Department. BMC Anesthesiol. 2021. doi: 10.1186/s12871-021-01260-6
- Cavallaro P, Fields A, Bleday R, Rubin M, Ricciardi R, Bordeianou L. A Multi-center Analysis of Cumulative Inpatient Opioid Use in Colorectal Surgery Patients. The American Journal of Surgery. 2020 July 2. doi: 10.1016/j.amjsurg.2020.06.038
- Specht M, Sobti N, Rosado N, Tomczyk E, Abbate O, Ellis D, Liao E. High Efficiency Same Day Approach to Breast Reconstruction During the COVID 19 Crisis. Breast Cancer Research and Treatment. 2020 June 19. doi: 10.1007/s10549-020-05739-7
- Cavallaro P, Bordeianou L. Implementation of an ERAS Pathway in Colorectal Surgery. Clinics in Colon and Rectal Surgery. 2019. doi: 10.1055/s-0038-1676474
Strengthening patient care through measurement & analysis of surgical outcomes and data
The Center for Outcomes and Patient Safety in Surgery (COMPASS) combines clinical collaboration and data to ensure, amongst all surgical and procedural colleagues, the safest, most appropriate and effective and highest quality procedure for every patient, every time.