General anesthetics often cause a short term memory loss in the few days following surgery however there is usually no long term problems. In an older person this confusion and memory loss may be more of a problem and last for longer.
Other possible reasons for avoiding general anesthetic in an older person include risk of chest infection and impact on blood pressure.
At the moment, studies have shown that memory loss is short term with general anesthesia. There is no reliable study that gives a long term confirmation of a relationship with memory loss and anesthesia.
Problems with memory in a younger person may be related to stress, concentration, thyroid dysfunction as well as side effect of medication among others. Most people have times when they have a lapse in memory (forgetting location of keys etc but if you are worried that this is more than slips of the memory then I would recommend that you have a formal assessment with a neurologist.
Pharmacist
MRPharmS. Worked as Community pharmacist for 16 years. Undertaking a second degree in medicine.