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

Objective. To assess the viability of surgical procedures on gynecologic malignant patients of 70 years age and older. Methods. Between September 1,1983 to June 30, 1999, 57 gynecologic malignant patients aged 70 years and older (mean age 73.5 years) were treated by surgical procedures. A retrospective study was performed. All patients were analyzed for preexisting medical conditions, length of hospital stay, morbidi-ty, and mortality. Results. Thirty-four patients had an extensive surgical procedure, while a local surgical procedure was done in 23 patients. Forty-one patients (71.9%) had one or more preexisting medical illnesses. Minor surgical morbidity occurred in 24 patients (31.6%) and major surgical morbidity occurred in 6 patients (10.5%). There were no differences in the types of surgical procedures, mean hospital stay, preexisting medical illness and postoperative complications between the two groups of patients 70 to 75 year older and over age 75. The major postoperative complications all occurred in the extensive surgical procedure group that were higher as compared with local operation and postoperative mean stay was also significantly length in former group. Conclusions. The extensive surgical procedure can be performed for elderly patients with gynecologic malignances. Careful preoperative evaluation, monitoring, and meticulous postoperative care are vital to the success.