Master, Doctor Nguyễn Ngọc Khánh – Head of the Digestive – Urology – Robot Surgery Unit at Vinmec, was invited to report on the experience of implementing ERAS in colorectal surgery at Vinmec Times City during the 1st Asian ERAS Conference and the 4th ERAS Singapore Conference from September 27-28, 2019.
ERAS (Enhanced Recovery After Surgery) Program
According to the conference organizers, Master, Doctor Nguyễn Ngọc Khánh's presentation will be part of the discussion session "Current Status and Future of ERAS in Asia" at the conference.
In 2017, Vinmec Times City began implementing ERAS in colorectal cancer surgery – a comprehensive care program that helps patients recover quickly after surgery.
ERAS stands for Enhanced Recovery After Surgery. The goal of ERAS is to provide comprehensive patient care before, during, and after surgery to reduce hospital stay, improve treatment quality, lower costs; and reduce complications for patients.
ERAS surgery patients do not need to fast or undergo bowel preparation. During surgery, no drains are placed, and fluid therapy is optimized to avoid water-electrolyte imbalances. Pain management does not use morphine, and antibiotics are given in a single dose to avoid side effects. Postoperatively, patients can drink water, and milk, and eat soft foods on the same day, and sit up after 2 hours; on the first postoperative day, they stop intravenous fluids, eat solid foods, and start walking after 6 hours.
ERAS Implementation Results at Vinmec
To date, nearly 20 colorectal cancer surgeries have been managed with early recovery care at Vinmec, yielding positive results. Compliance with the ERAS protocol has increased from 36% before implementation to 70%, comparable to hospitals in Asia that have adopted ERAS. Patients under ERAS have reduced their average hospital stay from 10 days to 5 days, cutting treatment costs by 20-30%. Additionally, ERAS has contributed to reducing complications and enabling the early return to normal activities post-surgery.
ERAS not only brings many benefits to the hospital but also enhances teamwork among doctors from various specialties and between doctors and nurses.
Therefore, based on the successful implementation of ERAS, Vinmec will continue to expand the Early Recovery After Surgery program to other surgical fields and across all Vinmec hospitals nationwide. In 2019, ERAS is expected to be further applied in gastric surgery and urological robotic surgery.
As the first hospital in Vietnam to implement ERAS, Vinmec Times City organized the international conference "Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) in Colorectal Surgery" in Hanoi in April 2019. The conference featured the participation of ERAS experts from Tan Tock Seng Hospital – the first hospital in Asia to apply the enhanced recovery after surgery program. At this conference, Vinmec shared experiences with domestic colleagues, including surgeons from Việt Đức Hospital, Saint Paul Hospital, and others.
