The special needs of elderly patients

With the fastest growing segment of the population aged 65 years and older, the demand for colorectal surgeons is steadily increasing. Therefore, it is imperative that colorectal surgeons understand surgical issues for the elderly population including operative risk for elective versus emergent surgery, quality indicators for improving patient care, frailty as a measure of risk assessment, DNR as a predictor of postoperative complications, and areas for potential optimization prior to undergoing colorectal surgery. This review touches on a few of the many items that are important for optimizing the special needs of elderly patients undergoing colorectal surgery.