Preoperative Evaluation of the Vascular Patient

Almost as critical as an operation itself is the preparation of the patient. Although this often includes psychosocial concerns such as expectations of recovery, inpatient stay, and other patient-centered issues, the discussion prior to surgery should not be limited to these factors. A medical assessment of the patient’s fitness and physiologic preparedness for the planned procedure must be performed by the surgeon and the resultant findings and plan reviewed with the patient. Although vascular disease affects multiple organ systems requiring a thorough general preoperative patient assessment, the focus of preoperative risk reduction strategies center on cardiac outcomes. Therefore, this review focuses on cardiac-related interventions with added coverage of preoperative strategies regarding diabetes, pulmonary and renal risk assessment, and infection reduction. Lastly, the perioperative management of anticoagulation/antiplatelet medications and cerebrovascular disease are discussed Techniques and treatments to optimize patients for surgery are integrated into the respective sections, allowing for a primer to guide this critical phase in a patient’s journey through surgery. Tables outline the Revised Cardiac Risk Index, assessment of functional capacity from patient self-reported activities, optimal delay in elective surgery after percutaneous coronary revascularization according to the 2014 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association clinical practice guidelines, Respiratory Failure Risk Index, Szilagyi classification of vascular surgical site infection, and recommendations regarding perioperative management of anticoagulants and antiplatelet agents. A suggested algorithm for preoperative cardiac workup and the Cockcroff-Gault equation are provided. This review contains 2 figures, 6 tables, and 115 references.