Expert: Ronald Levy, M.D. - 8/17/2009

Question
Dr. Levy,

My mother will be undergoing hip replacement surgery in the coming month. She is 71 years old with no major health problems. She is on blood pressure medicine and cholesterol medicine which she has been taking for years. Other than that she is in perfect health and  will be undergoing the usual pre-operative health screening prior to the surgery. I am concerned with the effects of anesthesia while undergoing this surgery for someone who is in her age bracket. Are there increased risks for her due to her age other than the normal risks everyone encounters when they go into surgery and general anesthesia?

Answer
Age is a risk factor (but I think more so for the surgery than the anesthesia). There have been some reports of some memory problems after major surgery which is largely dependent on length of surgery, recovery time, etc. If your surgeon is a fast one, these issues are less. The fact that she is otherwise healthy works in her favor. You anesthesiologist should be able to give you more details since he will know the surgeon, etc.


Ronald Levy, MD
Professor of Anesthesiology
UTMB-Galveston