Neurosurgery in the elderly

AbstractNeurosurgeons have always tended to be slightly behind the times, perhaps an inevitable feature of a branch of medicine which requires a rather conservative and obsessional personality in order to be successful. This general rule holds true when one considers the question of surgery in old age. While other types of surgeon have become aware of the growing importance of the elderly as a group demanding medical attention, neurosurgeons have paid relatively little attention to this subject until recently.