Jeffrey H. Silverstein
G. Alec Rooke
J.G. Reves
Charles H. McLeskey
Editors

2008

The goal of getting older is to age successfully. Unfortunately, the majority of our older patients will have acquired one or more chronic medical conditions as they age, and, even if a perfectly healthy older patient presents for surgery, that patient’s ability to handle physiologic stress will be diminished, including the stress of surgery. Nearly half of all surgical procedures involve patients older than age 65, and that percentage is likely to increase as the U.S. population ages.