Perioperative care in cancer surgery.

This article reviews the current data on mortality rates of elderly patients undergoing major thoracic and abdominal surgery, those procedures most applicable to cancer surgery. The major morbidity of surgery is discussed in relation to normal aging physiology of the heart, lungs, and kidneys. Preoperative risk assessment is discussed in relation to clinical assessment, laboratory and radiologic assessment, and the use of indexes developed to estimate surgical risk. General recommendations important in the perioperative period are given as well as specific recommendations for patients with cardiac disease, cerebrovascular disease, hypertension, thromboembolic disease, diabetes mellitus, and renal disease.