Anesthetic considerations in the geriatric patient.

As the population ages the incidence of many urologic diseases increases. The elderly patient often is afflicted with many other concomitant diseases in addition to the general deterioration in their overall health status that occurs as a part of the normal aging process. With new advances in technology, many less invasive techniques have become available to treat many of these conditions, thus making many more elderly patients candidates for surgery. In the geriatric population the anesthetic consideration for surgery is as important as the surgical consideration and good communication between the patient, the family, the urologist and the anesthesiologist can make the entire surgical experience a successful one and achieve the desired outcome.