The High-risk Surgical Patient

It is well known that certain diseases and patient conditions are associated with increased perioperative risk. The aim of this book is to define and identify the clinical factors that warrant a broader and  more detailed assessment of pre-operative surgical risk in difficult and unusual clinical settings. One of the sections is dedicated to the main pathway of peri- and post-surgical critical care based on the  patient-specific deterioration risk and associated diseases; here, a panel of selected  experts describes the correct patient-oriented pathways for complex or unscheduled surgical operations in order to reduce the operative risk. In addition, the book describes the latest trends in minimally invasive surgical techniques that are associated with peri- and post-operative risk reduction,  and provides  an overview of recent advances in surgical simulation, focusing on  perspectives in surgical research to increase patient safety.
Guidance is also provided on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), Left Ventricular Assist Devices (LVADs), and   their management in patients requiring emergency surgery. 

The book will help surgical trainees recognize cases with  the highest surgical risk and identify the most common complications at an early stage.

Paolo Aseni works at the Department of Emergency at the Niguarda Hospital in Milan, Italy. He worked in the General Surgical Department and Abdominal Transplant Center of the same Hospital, where he was mainly involved in abdominal organ transplantation, abdominal surgery and emergency surgery. At the same hospital, he is currently responsible for basic surgical training for the emergency medical team. At the University of Medicine of Milan, he holds the position of Assistant Professor of Anatomy and Human Macroscopic Morphology. 

Antonino M. Grande is an attending surgeon in Cardiac Surgery - Heart and Lung Transplant Department at the IRCCS Fondazione Policlinico San Matteo in Pavia. His clinical interests include heart failure, heart/lung transplants and mechanical circulatory support. He did a Fellowship in Cardiovascular Surgery at the Texas Heart Institute in Houston, Texas, U.S.A., and he was an Assistant Professor of Surgical Anatomy at the University of Pavia, Italy.
Ari Leppaniemi is the Chief of Emergency Surgery and Surgical Critical Care at the Helsinki University Hospital Meilahti, Finland. His research interests include abdominal trauma, peritonitis, pancreatitis, abdominal compartment syndrome, open abdomen, and complex reoperative and abdominal wall surgery. He is an honorary fellow of the ACS, President of the Finnish Society of Surgery and President of the European Society for Trauma and Emergency Surgery.

Osvaldo Chiara has been an American College of Surgeons ATLS instructor and Director of American College of Surgeons ATOM courses in Europe. He was also a Visiting Professor at the Shock Trauma Center, State University of Maryland, Baltimore, USA. His research interests include shock, trauma surgery, open abdomen, and non-operative management in trauma. He is Director of the Trauma Team and Scientific Coordinator of the Trauma Center at the Niguarda General Hospital in Milan, and a Full Professor of Emergency and Trauma Surgery at the State University of Milan.