This focused issue on “Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) Program in General Surgery” is edited by Dr. Chris Jones, Royal Surrey County Hospital, UCL, London, UK, and Dr. Chuangqi Chen from Center of Gastrointestinal Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China, with Dr. Xuefu Zhou, from Center for Digestive Disease, Seventh Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen, China being the Assistant Guest Editor.

Undoubtedly, ERAS will continue to grow as more and more centres across the globe look at introducing it for their patients. However it is important to remember that whilst it may be relatively easy to produce a protocol, successful implementation and maintenance is challenging and requires a collaborative effort from the entire multidisciplinary team, and most importantly, regular auditing to ensure that the care delivered matches that prescribed by the protocol.