In this episode of the IJGC podcast, Editor-in-Chief Dr. Pedro Ramirez is joined by Dr. Javier Lasala to discuss the impact of TIVA on postoperative opioid consumption. Dr. Lasala is an Associate Professor of Anesthesiology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX. He is currently the Vice Chair of Clinical Affairs in his department and has been involved with Enhanced Recovery after Surgery pathways for the past 7 years. In addition he serves as the anesthesiology lead for the gynecologic oncology program and co-lead for the thoracic surgical program.

Highlights:

(1) Total intravenous anesthesia (TIVA) technique reduces the amount of post-operative opioid consumption in a well-established ERAS program.

(2) Multimodal analgesia in combination with high compliance to an ERAS program will decrease patient opioid utilization.

(3) Pain scores were unchanged with the decreased use of opioids in the post-operative course.