ABSTRACT
Physicians and surgeons have long understood that the physiological and pathological processes characteristic of the neonatal period are considerably different from those of the mature adult. The same is true of physiological and pathological characteristics at the other extreme of life. Although internists have recognized the need to provide special ‘‘geriatric’’ care for more than four decades, the adjustment of surgical practice to meet the specific needs of the elderly has only recently begun in a programmatic way. The ‘‘graying’’ of the population has created the need to provide surgical care to an ever-increasing number of older patients, and the technological explosion has provided the means to do so safely.
