ABSTRACT
Aging itself only minimally increases operative risk. The primary risk factors for geriatric patients undergoing surgery are listed in Table 1. The operative risk increases for the geriatric patient with increasing severity of concomitant diseases according to the American Society of Anesthesiologist (ASA) classification (Table 2), complexity of surgery, length of surgery and whether the surgery is an emergency. The operative risk in the geriatric patient increases from 1% for elective cases to 45% for emergency surgeries (1). Therefore, precise assessment and appropriate management of the geriatric surgical patient represent a great challenge when administering anesthesia for emergency surgery.
