Bundang Seoul National University Hospital Establishes Korea's First "ERAS Center"

Specialized Center for Enhanced Recovery After Surgery Program
"Developing into a Perioperative Management Hub Integrating Pre-Anesthesia Assessment, Nutritional Support, and Bloodless Surgery Center"

Bundang Seoul National University Hospital announced on January 30 that it has established and begun operating an official "ERAS Center," dedicated to the Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) program, for the first time among medical institutions in Korea.

ERAS is a standardized management program based on scientific evidence that aims to improve the recovery speed and safety of surgical patients by standardizing preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative processes. Moving away from the traditional approach of prolonged fasting and bed rest, the program seeks to accelerate postoperative recovery through strategies such as minimizing preoperative fasting, implementing multimodal pain management, and encouraging early ambulation.

Exterior view of Bundang Seoul National University Hospital. Bundang Seoul National University Hospital

Unlike other hospitals in Korea, which have operated ERAS programs individually within each department, Bundang Seoul National University Hospital has established a dedicated center to create an integrated multidisciplinary management system. A dedicated coordinator manages the entire perioperative process and systematically monitors key performance indicators (KPIs), such as recovery metrics.

The hospital explained that it formalized the center based on its previous clinical achievements. In a prospective randomized clinical trial conducted in 2018 on patients with early gastric cancer, the group that received ERAS care experienced an average reduction of 15 hours in recovery time compared to the conventional treatment group. In an observational study of patients undergoing bariatric surgery, the time to discharge decision was reduced by an average of 10 hours. The ERAS protocol is also being continuously applied to orthopedic knee joint surgeries.

The newly launched ERAS Center plans to expand its application, starting with surgeries in the departments of surgery and urology. The hospital envisions further developing the center into a "perioperative management hub," integrating preoperative anesthesia assessment, nutritional management, bloodless surgery programs, and prehabilitation. The goal is to manage the entire process-from preoperative patient assessment to the recovery phase-within a single system.

Gu Bonwook, Director of the ERAS Center, stated, "As the number of elderly patients and those with complex diseases increases, there is a need for a system that can enhance both the safety and efficiency of surgeries. Through standardized management based on scientific evidence, we aim to improve the speed of patient recovery and the quality of treatment."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.