Geriatric Anesthesia, An Issue of Anesthesiology Clinics

Book excerpt: The volume of elderly patients requiring anesthesia and surgery is growing rapidly. Thirty-five percent of surgeries are performed on patients older than 65 years, and in general, these patients have higher morbidity and mortality rates after anesthesia compared with their younger counterparts. One of the major challenges of treating elderly patients is the heterogeneity of the geriatric population—and the need to individualize care for each patient to provide the best outcome.