Age is not a disease. Organ function is what matters, and we can measure it.
Before any planned anaesthetic in a patient over seven we run a full blood panel and, where the history warrants it, blood pressure and a cardiac check. That gives us a protocol calculated for this animal rather than a standard dose by weight.
During the procedure there is a nurse whose only job is your pet: depth, blood pressure, temperature and oxygenation recorded every five minutes, intravenous fluids running, a warming mattress underneath. Recovery is in a quiet ward with someone in the room until they are lifting their head.