Postoperative Complications and Prognosis in Patients Aged Over 80 Undergone Gastroenterological Surgery

Mitsuharu Nakamoto, Tomoaki Urakawa, Kiyoshi Uematsu

Department of Surgery, Kobe Rosai Hospital of the Labour Welfare Corporation

We investigated the postoperative complications and factors affecting the outcome in 58 patients aged over 80 who underwent gastroenterological surgery under general anesthesia over the past 5 years. Patients aged more than 80 accounted for 5.7% of all cases, showing an increase compared with previous studies. Malignant diseases accounted for 69.0% of the operations, and emergency operations for 15.5%. Most emergency surgery was for complications of infections such as cholangitis and peritonitis. Postoperative complications occurred in 41.4% of the patients and 3 patients died after surgery because of serious complications, such as bleeding, sepsis, and anastomotic leakage. The presence of preoperative complications, results of preoperative general examinations, including hemoglobin and total protein determinations, and the operation time were not clearly related to the frequency of postoperative complications. Emergency surgery, and the volume of blood lost during the operation were related to the frequency of postoperative complications or the outcome. Therefore, it is important to attempt to decrease postoperative complications by choice of the correct operative procedure as well as careful supportive measures especially in emergency situations, although age itself must not become a reason to abandon surgery.

Key words
gastroentrological surgery in elderly patients, postoperative complications, operative indications

Reprint requests
Mistuharu Nakamoto Department of Surgery, Kobe Rosai Hospital of the Labour Welfare Corporation
4 Kagoike-dori, Chuo-ku, Kobe, 651 JAPAN

Accepted
July 10, 1990

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