Was CEPOD right? This retrospective study found that the long-term (greater than 6 months) postoperative survival in ASA 4E and 5E patients was 41% and 21% respectively, in 1986. This supports the Confidential Enquiry into Peri-operative Deaths' recommendation that life-saving surgery should not be withheld from patients who present in so serious a condition that they are unlikely to survive surgery. 