SURGICAL TREATMENT OF GYNECOLOGIC MALIGNANCES IN PATIENTS 70 YEARS OF AGE AND OLDER

Accordingtothedatafromepidemiology,thein-cidenceofcancerrisessteadilywithadvancingage.Age?specificincidenceratesfromtheThirdNationalCancerSurveyoftheUnitedStatesrevealedthattheriskofcancerdevelopmentinthe6thdecadeoflifeisapproximately1%,whichincreasesto2%inthe81styearoflife(1).Theincidencesofmostgyneco-logiccancersincludingcervicalcancer,endometrialcancer,ovariancancerandvulvarcancerpeakaftertheageof60years(2-4).Surgeryisoneofthemaintreatmentoptionsforgynecologiccancerandmaybringaboutsomeeff…

SURGICAL TREATMENT OF GYNECOLOGIC MALIGNANCES IN PATIENTS 70 YEARS OF AGE AND OLDER

Objective.T o assess the viability of surgical procedures on gynecologic malignant patients o f70years age and older.Methods.Between September1,1983to June30,1 999,57gynecologic malignant patients aged70years and older were treated by surgical procedures.A retrospective study was perf ormed.All patients were analyzed for preexisting medical conditions,length of hospital stay,morbidi-ty,and mortality.Results.Thirty-four patients had a n extensive surgical procedure,while a local surgical procedure was done in23 patients.Forty-one patientshad one or more preexisting medical i llnesses.Minor surgical morbidity occurred in24patientsand majo r surgical morbidity occurred in6patients.There were no differen ces in the types of surgical procedures,mean hospital stay,preexisting medical illness and postoperative complications between the two groups of patients70 to75year older and over age75.The major postoperative complications all occ urred in the extensive surgical procedure group that were higher as compared wit h local operation and postoperative mean stay was also significant-ly length in former group.Conclusions.The extensive surgical procedure can be performed fo r elderly patients with gynecologic malignances.Careful preoperative evaluatio n,monitoring,and meticulous postoperative care are vital to the success.