Abstract
Surgical recovery is a concept which has traditionally been poorly defined and poorly measured. The expectations of elderly patients with regards to their postoperative outcomes, including what they consider a success, may be very different when compared to the expectations of their younger counterparts or of their surgeons. In this chapter, the authors review the impact of surgery on a patient’s functional status, on how they report their symptoms, and how they perceive their health and their quality of life. Important risk factors for a prolonged recovery, such as complications, malnutrition, and frailty, are described. Finally, strategies for optimizing recovery are discussed, starting with the preoperative period (comprehensive geriatric assessment, pre-habilitation), followed with hospitalization (enhanced recovery pathways, multidisciplinary intervention teams and programs), and finally with rehabilitation in the postoperative period.
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Bergman, S., Drudi, L.M. (2019). Postoperative Recovery and Rehabilitation. In: Rosenthal, R., Zenilman, M., Katlic, M. (eds) Principles and Practice of Geriatric Surgery. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-20317-1_30-1
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