Pre-Operative Assessment of ‘Risk’

In 1941, Saklad et al1. described a system of classification for surgical procedures. In his introduction, he stresses that this assessment is not one of ‘operative risk’, it merely describes the patients pre-operative condition with the purpose of co-relating three factors namely, pre-operative risk, the operative procedure and the postoperative result in terms of overall patient prognosis. Saklad also writes “It may be difficult, at first, for the anesthetist to classify patients with reference to their physical state alone. Subconsciously, he is apt to allow his knowledge of the contemplated surgical procedure to influence him in his grading of patients. With care, diligence, and attention to detail, he very soon will limit himself to the consideration of the patient’s condition in his classification.”