Leveraging the Preoperative Clinic to Engage Older Patients in Shared Decision Making About Complex Surgery: An...

The decision to pursue surgery is often complicated in older adults. A multidisciplinary, shared approach to decision-making may improve communication between patients and their providers and facilitate complex risk assessment. We describe a case of an older adult presenting for complex surgery in which the preoperative anesthesia clinic visit was used to facilitate involvement of the geriatrics service. This multidisciplinary approach allowed for re-evaluation and reiteration of risks and benefits, in-depth discussion of the patient's values and goals, and recommendations for care teams downstream in the patient's surgical pathway to ensure treatment consistent with patient goals and clinical recommendations.