Perioperative Care of the Elderly Patient

The elderly population is a major user of healthcare and surgery in particular. This book is for all healthcare providers who need to know how the older patient may be challenged during the perioperative period when undergoing anesthesia and surgery, for procedures ranging from routine cataracts to major cardiac surgeries.

Older patients carry some of the highest risks of suffering an adverse event or death following anesthesia and surgery. They are inherently vulnerable, presenting with numerous comorbidities and reduced physiological reserve, requiring ''gero-centric'' perioperative care for everything from routine eye surgery to major cardiac surgeries. Dementia, frailty, and the need for palliative care and pain management for the orthopedic patient are important areas requiring special consideration in this group. This book provides a general overview of these topics for those healthcare providers who may not have extensive knowledge of this patient population, while at the same time offering practical tips for the more experienced clinician. Chapters cover the spectrum of perioperative care including preoperative management of comorbid conditions, intraoperative anesthetic management, postoperative pain control, and a primer on advanced directive discussions. This book is appropriate not only for anesthesiologists but for any perioperative physician caring for the older patient.