Introduction:

The increase in life expectancy determines an increase in the incidence of diseases with surgical indication. Advances in surgical techniques, intensive care and deeper understanding of the aging process tend to favor the reduction of perioperative morbidity and mortality among geriatric patients.

Objective:

To determine the incidence of intraoperative and postoperative complications among geriatric patients during elective major abdominal surgery.

Methods:

A descriptive, cross-sectional and observational study was carried out with 373 geriatric patients scheduled for major abdominal surgery from January 2017 to December 2019 at Dr. Miguel Enríquez Clinical-Surgical Hospital. The incidence of perioperative complications was recorded, relating them to the study variables.

Results:

The most frequent complications were the cardiovascular ones. Mortality was low.

Conclusions:

The perioperative complications identified among the geriatric patients studied are related with previous diseases, with the type and extent of surgery, and with the surgical time.

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