Postoperative Functional Outcomes in Older Adults

As the world’s aging population grows, the surgical population is increasingly made up of older adults. Due to changes in physiologic function and increasing comorbidity burden, older adults are at increased risk of morbidity, mortality, and functional decline after surgery. In addition, decision to...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Current surgery reports (Philadelphia, PA) PA), 2016-06, Vol.4 (6), Article 21
Main Authors: Brinson, Zabecca S., Tang, Victoria L., Finlayson, Emily
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Geriatric Surgery
Geriatric Surgery (T. Robinson
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Section Editor
Surgery
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Summary:As the world’s aging population grows, the surgical population is increasingly made up of older adults. Due to changes in physiologic function and increasing comorbidity burden, older adults are at increased risk of morbidity, mortality, and functional decline after surgery. In addition, decision to undergo surgery for the older adult may be based on the postoperative functional outcome rather than survival. Although few studies have evaluated an older adult’s function as a postoperative outcome, surgeons are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of maintaining or regaining function in an older patient. Interventions to improve postoperative functional outcomes are being developed and show promising results. This review discusses existing literature on postoperative functional outcomes in older adults and recently developed interventions.
ISSN:2167-4817
2167-4817
DOI:10.1007/s40137-016-0140-7