UROLOGY • CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE
“We have the patient drink a carbohydrate liquid
up until two hours before surgery, and we
have them eat right afterward. That stimulates
normal GI function and gets the tract back to
normal faster.”
The proof is in the post-surgical pudding: Patients
enjoy faster recovery, better outcomes and shorter
lengths of stay. And they do it with fewer opioids,
less anesthesia and less discomfort.
Drs. Rove and Cost have continued to refine
those protocols, and they’re currently leading a
multicenter study of Enhanced Recovery After
Surgery, or ERAS, in urological reconstructive
procedures. They’ve enrolled five other centers.
Closer to home, they adapted it for Dr. Cost’s
urologic oncological procedures. They published
that pathway in the Journal of Pediatric Urology
last year.
“Really you could apply this to any surgery, so we
should do that,” says Dr. Rove. “But to be honest,
that’s the hardest, most daunting part — getting
people on board.”
Indeed, systemic change in a hospital of
hundreds of surgeons, anesthesiologists, nurses
and nutritionists will require a certain evangelistic
zeal. At Children’s Colorado, it doesn’t hurt that
Duncan Wilcox, MD, the pediatric urologist who
first brought ERAS here, also happens to be
Surgeon-in-Chief. But it still won’t be easy.
For his part, Dr. Cost has been reading up on
executive management strategy.
“The thing you spend the most time on is
meetings,” says Dr. Cost. “The finer points can be
worked out, but everyone has to agree on the goal.
Our goal is to get patients through surgery safely
and with as little difficulty as possible. I think
everyone can agree on that.” ●
8 $1.29M
Pediatric urologists In pediatric urology grants
awarded through 2021
40+ 0%
Active research studies Reoperation rate for
pyeloplasties
LEADERSHIP:
Duncan Wilcox, MD
Surgeon-in-Chief, Center for Children’s Surgery,
The Ponzio Family Chair for the Surgeon-in-Chief,
The Ponzio Family Chair in Pediatric Urology
For urology healthcare professional resources, visit
childrenscolorado.org/UrologyHCP.
62
NEW CONSTELLATIONS
63