The Aging Surgeon Cohort: Their Impact on the Future of the Specialty.

Achieving technical excellence in surgery can happen at any point of a surgical career. The accumulation of wisdom brought by the aging surgeon's decades of experience, however, can only come with time and practice. With the accumulated life and professional experience obtained, aging surgeons can still contribute a valuable perspective/point of view to young trainees and colleagues. This article reviews the current literature of the aging surgeon and suggests strategies for how aging surgeons can use their expertise in an innovative fashion to train and develop the future legacy of the specialty.