Abstract: Objective To explore the efficacy of general anesthesia combined with epidural anesthesia in elderly patients with hypertension during laparoscopic cholecystectomy （LC）. Method 64 elderly hypertensive patients with gallstone undergoing LC were divided into control group（n=32） and observation group（n=32）. The general anesthesia was applied to patients in control group，while general anesthesia combined with epidural anesthesia in observation group. The hemodynamic changes in the two groups were recorded during operation including systolic blood pressure（SBP），diastolic blood pressure（DBP），and heart rates（HR），and serum hormones，such as growth hormone （GH），prolactin （PRL） and cortisol （Cor） were detected. Results The SBP in the observation group at T1 （immediately after intubation），T2 （ten minutes after pneumoperitoneum） and T3 （immediately before extubation） were（159.49±6.26） mmHg，（153.48±6.42） mmHg and（158.41±6.33） mmHg，while in the control group were（163.34±5.52） mmHg，（157.22±5.75） mmHg and （161.30±5.16） mmHg，respectively （P<0.05）；The DBP in the observation group were significantly lower than in the control group（P<0.05）；The HR in the observation group were quicker than in the control group （P<0.05）；Serum GH levels in the observation group at T1，T2 and T3 were （11.44±2.27） mg/L，（8.03±2.56） mg/L and（9.34±2.82） mg/L，obviously lower than in the control group [（13.25±3.56） mg/L，（9.51±3.14） mg/L and（10.92±3.25） mg/L，respectively，P<0.05 or P<0.01）；Serum PRL levels in the observation group were（70.76±5.55） mg/L，（60.43±7.85） mg/L and（64.36±7.59） mg/L，considerably lower than in the control group [（81.32±4.03） mg/L，（73.01±8.04） mg/L and（76.39±6.65） mg/L，respectively，P<0.05 or P<0.01；The serum Cor levels in the observation group were（480.33±26.16） mg/L，（469.27±28.76） mg/L and（477.91±21.78） mg/L，markedly lower than in the control group [（511.45±27.69） mg/L，（484.21±23.13） mg/L and （495.40±26.67） mg/L，respectively，P<0.05 or P<0.01]；The postoperative breathing recovery time，eye opening time，extubation time，orientation recovery time in the observer group were （7.81±3.12） min，（8.25±3.23） min，（16.73±4.28） min and （19.55±5.23） min，markedly shorter than in the control group [（10.20±3.87） min，（10.21±3.84） min，（21.45±4.50） min and（23.29±5.41） min，P<0.05 or P<0.01]；Eight cases（25.0%） in control group occurred wake irritability，while in observation group were only two （6.3%，P<0.05）. Conclusion It might be a stable hemodynamics，less hormonal stress and quick recovery from anesthesia in elderly patients with hypertension during LC when general anesthesia combined with epidural anesthesia are given.

Key words: Laparoscopic cholecystectomy, General anesthesia, Epidural anesthesia, Elderly, Hypertension