Preoperative assessment in patients presenting for elective surgery

Preoperative assessment of patients undergoing elective surgery is vital to ensure patients have underlying co-morbidities identified, appropriate investigations performed and are optimized prior to the day-of-surgery. Anaesthetic pre-assessment is usually initiated at a pre-assessment clinic. A thorough assessment should include a careful history and examination as well as assessment of both the airway and functional capacity. This article provides a systematic approach to the assessment process.