Frailty significantly impacts the ability of older adults to achieve early recovery milestones after colorectal surgery, but those who do experience reduced adverse outcomes.

• Only 42% of frail patients achieve early ambulation compared to 73% of nonfrail patients; early nutrition rates are 31% among frail versus 53% in nonfrail.
• Among frail patients, achieving early ambulation correlates with a 12% reduction in major morbidity (vs. 3% in nonfrail patients).

Surgeons should consider frailty and sarcopenia when designing perioperative strategies to optimize outcomes in high-risk older adults.