Enhanced Recovery After Gender-Affirming Surgery.

Area of Science:

• Plastic Surgery
• Perioperative Care
• Gender-Affirming Surgery

Background:

• Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) protocols have transformed perioperative care across various surgical fields.
• ERAS implementation is growing in plastic surgery, but evidence for gender-affirming surgery (GAS) remains limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conduct a scoping review on ERAS protocols in gender-affirming surgery (GAS).
• To assess the current adoption and impact of ERAS in GAS.
• To provide recommendations for future research and clinical practice in ERAS for GAS.

Main Methods:

• A scoping review was performed following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines.
• Literature search to identify studies on ERAS protocols specifically within GAS.

Main Results:

• A significant scarcity of evidence-based ERAS protocols for gender-affirming surgery (GAS) was identified.
• Published studies indicate promising early outcomes with ERAS application in GAS.
• The findings highlight an area ripe for innovation within plastic surgery.

Conclusions:

• There is a critical need for more research and development of ERAS protocols in gender-affirming surgery.
• Early evidence suggests ERAS can positively impact perioperative care in GAS.
• Further investigation is essential to optimize patient recovery and outcomes.