How AirSeal® Accelerates Enhanced Recovery After Surgery

  • Published: 4/14/2025
  • 3 min
  • Updated: 9/16/2025
In today’s surgical landscape, the shift toward enhanced recovery after surgery is not just a trend — it’s a transformation. These protocols, designed to reduce surgical stress and optimize postoperative recovery, are rapidly becoming the gold standard in hospitals and surgical centers around the world. At the heart of this evolution lies one core principle: minimizing the physiologic burden of surgery while maximizing patient outcomes.

One of the most overlooked — yet highly influential — contributors to this objective is intraoperative pneumoperitoneum: the pressure and stability of the abdominal cavity during minimally invasive procedures. This is where CONMED’s AirSeal® System shines.

Enhanced Recovery After Surgery and the Role of Intraoperative Stability

Enhanced recovery after surgery protocols emphasize low-pressure laparoscopy as a strategy to:

Reduce postoperative pain2

Enhance hemodynamic stability2

Accelerate patient mobilization and discharge

However, maintaining low-pressure pneumoperitoneum has traditionally been a trade-off1 — reducing pressure too much often meant compromising surgical field visibility or experiencing pressure loss during suction.

AirSeal® removes that compromise.

Why AirSeal® is a Game-Changer for Enhanced Recovery After Surgery

The AirSeal® System is designed to maintain a continuous, stable pneumoperitoneum4 — even at lower pressure settings. It does this through a unique, valveless insufflation system that continuously evacuates smoke while maintaining cavity stability and clarity. For surgeons working within enhanced recovery after surgery protocols, this means:

Low-pressure performance without sacrificing exposure2

Reduced reliance on CO₂ to maintain cavity integrity4

Fewer disruptions from pressure fluctuations or surgical smoke

Faster recovery driven by less intraoperative strain3 on the patient

In procedures ranging from general surgery to advanced robotics, AirSeal® enables surgeons to adhere to enhanced recovery after surgery protocols without the usual workflow friction — and without compromising patient safety or clinical outcomes.

What Leading Surgeons Are Saying

Dr. Brian Harkins, a well-known enhanced recovery after surgery advocate, shared his experience with the system:
“Enhanced recovery after surgery, at its core, is evidence-based medicine designed to minimize the surgical stress response.3 The easiest, but most often missed example of this, is using low-pressure peritoneum with AirSeal®.”
This quote highlights a critical gap: while the clinical benefits of low-pressure surgery are well-documented, the operational tools to enable it have historically lagged behind. AirSeal® fills that gap, empowering clinicians to confidently implement enhanced recovery after surgery standards without compromise.

Real Impact for Patients and Providers

By supporting practices aligned with enhanced recovery after surgery, AirSeal® helps health systems:
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Shorten hospital stays3

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Lower complication and readmission rates

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Improve patient satisfaction and outcomes

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Drive OR efficiency and throughput5

And as healthcare continues to shift toward value-based care, technologies like AirSeal® don’t just support the surgeon — they support the entire surgical ecosystem.5

Supporting a Smarter Surgical Future

Enhanced recovery after surgery protocols represent the future of minimally invasive surgery, and AirSeal® is uniquely positioned to support that future. By enabling stable, low-pressure pneumoperitoneum, reducing surgical smoke, and enhancing procedural efficiency, CONMED’s AirSeal® System helps teams deliver safer, faster, and smarter care.

When recovery matters — AirSeal® makes the difference.

Learn More about AirSeal®

Sources
1 Harkins B. 'Enhanced Recovery and the Case for Low-Pressure Laparoscopy.' General Surgery News. 2022.
2 de'Angelis N, et al. 'Low-pressure laparoscopic surgery: Current perspectives and the potential role of AirSeal®.' Surgical Endoscopy. 2021.
3 ERAS Society Guidelines: https://erassociety.org/guidelines/
4 CONMED AirSeal® Clinical Insights and Product Information. https://www.conmed.com/airseal
5 CONMED Clinical Data Repository. Accessed 2025. https://www.conmed.com/en/data-repository