Part I. Background: 1. Preoperative assessment of the elderly Sara E. Neves and Sheila Ryan Barnett; 2. Ethical issues in perioperative care of the elderly: informed consent/informed refusal Gail A. Van Norman; Part II. General Health and Illness: 3. The perioperative management of hypertension in the elderly Jeffrey B. Dobyns and Thomas R. Vetter; 4. Heart failure Rabya S. Saraf, Mario E. Montealegre and Robina Matyal; 5. Dementia Angela Georgia Catic; 6. Postoperative cognitive issues Christopher G. Hughes and Charles H. Brown, IV; 7. Renal and metabolic aging Rita S. Patel and Michael C. Lewis; 8. Frailty and functional assessment Dae Hyun Kim; Part III. Intraoperative Considerations: 9. The surgeon's perspective Cynthia E. Weber, Anthony J. Baldea and Frederick Luchette; 10. Geriatric cardiac procedures John Mitchell; 11. The aging valve Mario E. Montealegre, Rabya S. Saraf and Robina Matyal; 12. Thoracic surgery in the elderly Elifce Cosar and Stephanie Cintora; 13. Geriatric trauma: principles and anesthetic considerations Varun Rimmalapudi, Michael C. Lewis and Carol Ann B. Diachun; 14. Major surgery in the elderly James M. Hunter, Jr and Thomas R. Vetter; 15. Elective orthopedic surgery in the geriatric patient Lisa Kunze and Elizabeth Fouts-Palmer; 16. Regional and neuroaxial anesthesia in the geriatric population Shachi C. Patel; 17. Anesthesia for urologic and gynecologic surgery in the elderly Kristine E. W. Breyer; 18. Cataract surgery in the elderly George A. Dumas and Gwendolyn L. Boyd; Part IV. Postoperative Issues: 19. Critical care of the elderly patient Abirami Kumaresan and Shazad Shaefi; 20. Pain in the elderly Jason L. MeKeown and Thomas R. Vetter; 21. Palliative care Mary Buss and Ellen P. McCarthy; 22. Quality assessment and improvement in the elderly Marissa Wagner.

This practical, useful guide is for all clinicians involved in perioperative care of the geriatric patient undergoing surgery with anesthesia.