At the Evidence Based Perioperative Medicine (EBPOM) World Congress, and the first World Congress of Enhanced Post-Operative Care (EPOC), Andy Cumpsty interviews Deena Harji, Consultant Robotic and Colorectal Surgeon at the Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT) and the Professor of Robotics and Digital Healthcare Technologies, alongside Cathy Price, Consultant in Pain Medicine at Southampton NHS Foundation Trust.

Harji covers the rapid UK adoption of surgical robotics, noting potential benefits such as lower systemic inflammatory response, less pain, faster recovery, and earlier discharge, while acknowledging implementation has outpaced evidence on clinical and cost effectiveness.

Price argues pain management should be treated as a whole perioperative journey, addressing multiple cancer-surgery pain mechanisms and biopsychosocial factors, using multimodal analgesia, ERAS principles, tailored approaches for chronic pain, psychosocial interventions, and functional outcomes rather than “pain tick” metrics. They emphasize teamwork, patient selection for robotics (frail, elderly, obese, complex cases), anesthetic considerations (lower pneumoperitoneum), and sensible limits including early conversion.

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