The COVID-19 pandemic has markedly increased delays in oncologic surgeries because of the virus’s impact on traditional anesthetic management.

Novel protocols, developed to protect patients and medical professionals, have altered the ways and instances in which general anesthesia (GA) can be safely performed.

We reduced virus exposure related to aerosol-generating procedures, it is now recommended to avoid GA when feasible and promote regional anesthesia instead.

At our institution, we observed faster postoperative recovery in patients who received paravertebral blocks for breast cancer surgery instead of GA. This led us to formally evaluate whether regional anesthesia instead of GA helped improve time to hospital discharge.