How should doctors weigh which older patients are healthy enough for surgery?

Clinicians weighing whether an older patient is fit enough for a surgery often skip over some cognitive and physical limitations in their assessments. But a new study that looked at more than 1,300 older patients who underwent major surgery found that those with poorer physical, psychological, and cognitive conditions faced a higher risk of death in the year after the operation. The study authors say that such factors should be considered when determining whether a surgery is the right medical call. In a separate commentary, doctors wrote the study “helps us identify patients who are more likely to benefit from targeted strategies for reducing complications and death with patient-centered rehabilitation and early discharge planning.”