Surgical innovations: impact on the quality of life of the older patient.

As surgery has been extended into the elderly population, health-related quality of life (HRQOL) has been appropriately added as a parameter to evaluate surgical success. Surgery remains of significant risk in older patients, and an estimate of the type of outcome, including morbidity, mortality, and HRQOL can aid in that decision. New techniques, such as laparoscopic or minimally invasive surgery show great promise for reduction in perioperative stress and improved HRQOL in younger patients, but have not been extensively used in the older and frail patients for whom the benefits potentially may be greater.