Introduction
Enhanced recovery after surgery comprises clinical pathways which aim to improve the quality of perioperative care and accelerate recovery. Benefits of enhanced recovery after surgery include reduced postoperative morbidity (Greco et al, 2014) and shorter length of stay, leading to reduced costs, greater throughput of patients and greater patient satisfaction. The underlying principles are reducing the surgical stress response and maintaining normal postoperative physiological functions. Strict adherence to the entire pathway produces better aggregate outcomes than implementing individual components (Gustafsson et al, 2011).

Introduction
Many clinicians will by now be increasingly familiar with the term ‘perioperative medicine’, which encompasses a refreshed way of managing the integrated, multidisciplinary medical care of the surgical patient. The principles are not necessarily new, but the success of projects such as Enhanced Recovery After Surgery in Europe and the Perioperative Surgical Home (Kehlet et al, 2015) in the USA have triggered a wave of interest and enthusiasm in trainees and consultants alike, by envisioning how revamping patients' care from contemplation of surgery through to hospital discharge could result in efficiency, quality and safety improvements.