Principles of Geriatric Surgery

Cancer and Age: General Considerations

“…50 The risk of surgical mortality and other complications is particularly elevated in the case of emergency surgery. 50 A number of advances both in anesthesia and in operative techniques have made surgery safer for older individuals. Of these, robotic surgery deserves mention, because it allows minimally invasive procedures.…”

Surgery of the Elderly Patient

“…Therefore, the optimal preoperative preparation is essential because, when preparation is suboptimal, the perioperative risk increases. 2…”

“…1 As a result, the conditions that require surgery, such as atherosclerosis, cancer, arthritis, prostatism, and others, also increase. 2 This has changed the definition of the elderly for the surgeons, where a threshold of 50 years was chosen in 1907, and surgery was not warranted even in this age group 3,4 ; a growing number of complex operations are being performed to patients even over 80 years of age with success today.…”

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“…Choice of surgical approach -use of technology-based minimally invasive surgery has been found to reduce the morbidity (Of conventional surgery) resulting from interference with the already constricted system in the elderly [28][29][30] . Essentially some principles are known to guide the choice of surgery in geriatric or old persons (60 years and above) and they include: atypical clinical presentation of surgical disease and consequently delayed diagnosis; lack of physiologic reserve; need for attention to detail (Preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative care); special consideration to preoperative preparation; comparative higher risk of emergency surgery; and status of age as a scientific fact [31,32] . It is important that the status of the aged biologically and medically is crucial in the choice, type and packaged care at all levels of surgical interventions.…”