['Studies over many years have demonstrated that preoptimization and attention to appropriate perioperative care is associated with a substantial decrease in surgical mortality. This review discusses ways in which patient preparation and perioperative support can minimize surgical mortality and morbidity.', 'Scoring systems continue to be developed in order to classify categories of surgical risk. Objective physiologically based assessments can also identify high-risk groups of patients. Debate continues over the indications for specific interventions such as beta-blockade or statin therapy. There is continuing interest in perioperative optimization of oxygen delivery. A multimodality approach paying attention to a range of possible interventions appears to be beneficial. Audit, training, experience and a sufficient volume of procedures are all factors associated with surgical mortality.'] Does excellent anaesthesia need patient preparation and postoperative support to influence outcome?