BRAIN HEALTH FOLLOWING SURGERY AND ANAESTHESIA FOR OLDER PEOPLE. Immediately following surgery with an anaesthetic older people may become temporarily confused – suffering from ‘delirium’. Up to 65% of older patients may develop postoperative delirium of varying degrees. Once this confusion has cleared, which may take many months, most recover fully but some may continue to show signs of deteriorated cognitive function (especially learning/memory and executive functions) or even clear-cut dementia. Some older people will show signs of deteriorated cognitive…..