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Gynecol Oncol. 2001;80:258-261.
With people living longer in the United States, insight on whether radical surgery can be performed with acceptable morbidity and mortality in patients older than 65 years is becoming increasingly important. A retrospective study of elderly patients undergoing radical hysterectomy was performed and compared with data on a younger cohort.
A retrospective case study of all patients older than 65 years who had undergone radical hysterectomy for cervical cancer in one practice of gynecologic oncology was performed. Each patient was matched with 2 patients aged 50 years or younger who had undergone a similar operation during the same year. No patients between July 1, 1965, and March 31, 1998, were knowingly excluded. All patients were analyzed for preexisting medical conditions, length of postoperative stay, morbidity, and postoperative mortality.
Sixty-two patients older than 65 years who had undergone a radical hysterectomy and pelvic lymphadenectomy were identified. These patients were matched with 124 patients aged 50 years or younger who had undergone a radical hysterectomy during the same calendar year. No differences in operative morbidity (minor, P > .57; major, P > .93) or mortality (no deaths in either group) were found. Patients aged 65 or older had more comorbidities prior to surgery than the younger cohort (minor, P < .001; major, P < .001). The mean postoperative hospital stay was significantly longer in the older cohort (P = .005).
We conclude that radical hysterectomy is a safe surgical procedure in a select population of patients aged 65 and older. No differences in operative mortality or morbidity were found when such patients were compared with a cohort of patients aged 50 or younger. Older patients, however, appear to require longer hospital stays.
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