Abstract
Elderly patients have limited physiologic reserves and far more likely to have multiple comorbidities and maintenance medications. When this special population group present at the emergency room with a surgical diagnosis, preoperative optimization must be goal-directed and time-limited to minimize surgical delays, which is almost always associated with mortality. Among the more common surgical procedures are colectomy, adhesiolysis, small bowel resection, perforated gastric ulcer repair, appendectomy, or cholecystectomy.
With reduced cardiovascular, respiratory, renal, and hepatic functions, intraoperative management is very challenging. Furthermore, seriously ill elderly patients are at a higher risk of postoperative complications. It is therefore imperative that a structured communication framework should be in place to facilitate goal-concordant care.
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Jamiana, M.N., Valdez, B.E.P., Mokamad-Romancap, H.O., Smigel, D.M. (2023). General Surgical Emergencies. In: Petrone, P., Brathwaite, C.E. (eds) Acute Care Surgery in Geriatric Patients. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-30651-8_41
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