Morbidity and mortality rates of elective gynecologic surgery in the elderly woman☆
Section snippets
Material and methods
The office and hospital charts of 54 consecutive women who were ≥70 years old and who underwent elective gynecologic surgery between June 1, 1998, and November 1, 2002, were reviewed retrospectively. We did not include patients who underwent minor gynecologic procedures such as hysteroscopy, curettage, or cone biopsies. All women received care by a single surgeon (M. R. T.). Preoperative variables that were considered included age, diagnosis, medical history, and anesthesia risk assessment. A
Results
Demographics of the population that was studied are reviewed in Table I. The mean age was 76.7 years (range, 70-86 years). Almost one third of the subjects (27.8%) were ≥80 years old. Most of the patients were community dwelling. Two patients resided in an assisted-living facility, and two patients were residents in a long-term care facility. All patients underwent a medical clearance evaluation by their private primary care physician before surgery.
Ten of the 54 patients (18.5%) had no
Comment
It can be anticipated that, as our society ages, demands for gynecologic surgery in elderly women will increase. The US Bureau of the Census has predicted that the proportion of postmenopausal women will increase from 23% of the population in 1995 to 33% of the population in 2050. Our analysis suggests that elderly women can undergo major gynecologic surgery with a small and defined risk of morbidity and death. Postoperative death occurred in 2 of 54 patients (3.7%). Serious postoperative
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Cited by (0)
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Presented at the Twenty-Ninth Annual Meeting of the Society of Gynecologic Surgeons, Anaheim, California, March 5-7, 2003.