The medical evaluation of the elderly preoperative patient

Elderly patients are at increased risk in the perioperative period, yet there is controversy as to whether age by itself is an independent risk for poor surgical outcome. Mortality and morbidity are most often related to cardiovascular and pulmonary complications. Functional status, mental status, nutritional status, and altered presentation of disease, together with reduced physiologic responsiveness to surgical stress, deserve special attention in the evaluation of the elderly surgical patient.