Abstract

Elderly person of 80 years of age and older presents a specific challenge to anesthetists,
who needs toacquire and maintain skill and expertise in the management of such patients.
Departments should havea lead clinician with an interest in the care of the elderly.
Development in anesthesia and operative techniques hasconsiderably reduced morbidity
and mortality in the elderly patients.Several anesthetic techniques have been used for
elderly patientsincluding general anesthesia, regional anesthesia, intravenoussedation and
monitored anesthesia care. However, anesthesiarelatedmortality in these patients is still
high. All elderly patientsundergoing surgical procedures require a preprocedural
evaluationto assess the risks of anesthesia and procedure and to manageproblems related
to the preexisting medical conditions, monitoringpatients during intraprocedural and
postprocedural periods aswell as postprocedural management. This article considers
theage-related physiological changes, preprocedure assessmentand preparation, anesthetic
techniques, intraoperative care andpostoperative care. Age does not obtund the perception
of pain. Acute and chronic pain management teams should be available totreat the elderly.
Prophylaxis for Thrombo embolic disease should initiated to prevent further complications.