Editing Surgery (section)

==Special populations==

===Elderly people===
Older adults have widely varying physical health.  [[Frailty syndrome|Frail elderly]] people are at significant risk of post-surgical complications and the need for extended care.  Assessment of older people before elective surgery can accurately predict the person's recovery trajectories.<ref name=Frailty>{{cite journal | vauthors = Makary MA, Segev DL, Pronovost PJ, Syin D, Bandeen-Roche K, Patel P, Takenaga R, Devgan L, Holzmueller CG, Tian J, Fried LP | title = Frailty as a predictor of surgical outcomes in older patients | journal = Journal of the American College of Surgeons | volume = 210 | issue = 6 | pages = 901–908 | date = June 2010 | pmid = 20510798 | doi = 10.1016/j.jamcollsurg.2010.01.028 }}</ref> One frailty scale uses five items:  unintentional weight loss, [[muscle weakness]], exhaustion, low physical activity, and slowed walking speed.  A healthy person scores 0; a very frail person scores 5.  Compared to non-frail elderly people, people with intermediate frailty scores (2 or 3) are twice as likely to have post-surgical complications, spend 50% more time in the hospital, and are three times as likely to be discharged to a skilled nursing facility instead of to their own homes.<ref name=Frailty /> People who are frail and elderly (score of 4 or 5) have even worse outcomes, with the risk of being discharged to a nursing home rising to twenty times the rate for non-frail elderly people.{{citation needed|date=May 2023}}

===Children===
Surgery on children requires considerations that are not common in adult surgery. Children and adolescents are still developing physically and mentally making it difficult for them to make informed decisions and give consent for surgical treatments. [[Bariatric Surgery#Youth|Bariatric surgery in youth]] is among the controversial topics related to surgery in children.{{citation needed|date=May 2023}}
{{See also|Pediatric surgery|Pediatric plastic surgery}}

===Vulnerable populations===
Doctors perform surgery with the consent of the person undergoing surgery. Some people are able to give better [[informed consent]] than others. Populations such as [[Incarceration|incarcerated persons]], [[dementia|people living with dementia]], the mentally incompetent, persons subject to coercion, and other people who are not able to make decisions with the same authority as others, have special needs when making decisions about their personal healthcare, including surgery.