H Schirrow | PubMed Health

PubMed1985

Total gastrectomy. A 15-year experience with particular reference to the patient over 70 years of age.

Between 1969 and 1984, a total of 186 patients underwent total gastrectomy. Seventy-four patients were more than 70 years of age. Surgical mortality was 13.4%, with only minor differences between those patients younger than 70 years and older patients--12.5% and 14.8%, respectively. Moreover, there was no major difference if surgery was curative or merely palliative. Of 27 patients with tumors at TNM stage IV, only one died. Of the 100 patients who were operated on during the five-year period between 1979 and 1984, only four died, for an operative mortality of 4%. These results suggest that this remarkable decline of mortality is due to a precise standardization of surgical technique and improvements in preoperative patient management and aftercare. The five-year survival was 15.9%; again, there was no major difference between the group of patients older than 70 years and those younger than 70 years (19.4% and 14.5%, respectively). The ten-year survival was 4.9%.

Age Factors↗

PubMed1984

[Gastrectomy in the aged].

Between 1969 and 1983 a total of 152 patients underwent total gastrectomy. 58 patients were older than 70 years. Surgical lethality was 14.47% with only minor differences between those patients younger than 70 and the older ones: 13.8 and 15.5%, respectively. Moreover, it did not make any major difference whether surgery was curative or merely palliative. Of 27 patients with the tumor stage TNM IV, only one patient died. Of the 66, who were operated upon during the recent 5 years period between 1979 and 1983, only one patient died. These results suggest that this remarkable decline of lethality is due to a precise standardisation of surgical technique, improvements in preoperative management of the patient and aftercare. 5 years survival rate was 17.3%; again there was no major difference between the group of patients older than 70 and those being younger than 70 years (16.5% and 19.4% respectively). It is of interest that the patients having additional splenectomy presented with an essentially worse prognosis as opposed to those without splenectomy although there were no differences between the TNM-stages. Even if the small numbers of patients can not yet be definitely conclusive, these preliminary results indicate that the indication for splenectomy in the course of total gastrectomy should be critically evaluated.

Age Factors↗