The High-Risk Surgical Patient

It is well known that certain patient diseases and conditions are associated with increased perioperative risk. The aim of this book is to define and identify clinical factors that warrant a more extensive and detailed assessment of pre-operative surgical risk in difficult and unusual clinical settings. A particular section is dedicated to the main pathway of peri- and post-surgical critical care based on patient-specific risk deterioration and associated diseases; here, a panel of select experts describes the correct patient-oriented pathways for complex or unscheduled surgical operations in order to reduce the operative risk.

In turn, the book describes the latest trends in mini-invasive surgical techniques that are associated with a reduced peri- and post-operative risk, and offers an overview of recent advances in surgical simulation, focusing on the surgical perspectives of research to increase patient safety during surgery.

This "how-to guide" offers easy access to the pathways of pre- and peri-operative surgical risk management in daily practice and in complex clinical settings. For educational purposes some chapters are enriched with clinical case scenarios, including self-assessment questionnaires. The book will help surgical trainees to recognize cases with higher surgical risk and identify the most common complications early on, describing the main strategies for prevention and management in unusual clinical setting including indications for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), Left Ventricular Assist Devices (LVADs), and their management in patients requiring emergency surgery.