Neurosurgery in octogenarians

AbstractIntroduction. The developed world has an aging population with an increasing neurosurgical demand. The benefit of neurosurgical intervention in the octogenarian population and the outcome is unclear. The 2010 NCEPOD report on all surgical care for the elderly (> 80 years) concluded that extreme age was an additional risk for which care was often lacking. Methods. Retrospective case review of 134 octogenarian admissions to a regional neurosurgical unit from January to December 2010. Admission pathology, co-morbidities, delay to surgery, length of stay, discharge destination, functional outcome and mortality were assessed. Results. There were 49 elective and 81 emergency admissions. Of which, 51% of elective admissions were for degenerative spine and 20% for functional/pain disorders. Also 55% of emergency admissions were for cranial trauma. Co-morbidities and ASA grade were higher in the emergency group. Peri-operative mortality was 0% for elective admission and 10.4% for emergency patients. Outcom...