Elective surgery patients growing older.

• Position: The Elderly - Brief article

Are you too old for an operation? Age need not be an automatic barrier to elective surgery, according to Mayo Clinic Women's HealthSource. Increased life expectancy, safer forms of anesthesia, and less-invasive surgical techniques have made it possible for older adults--in their 70s, 80s, and beyond--to have many types of elective surgery.

A number of studies indicate that overall mental and physical health--not age--is a better predictor of a successful outcome after many elective procedures. The goal of most elective surgeries is to improve and maintain physical functioning and overall quality of life.

Add to this the increasing number of older Americans, and it is clear why the age is rising among men and women undergoing...