Surgical treatment of esophageal carcinoma in patients eighty years of age and older

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Abstract
Before 1979, no patient 80 years of age or older had been operated on at our institution for esophageal cancer, while in the middle period (1980–1984), three patients were operated on, and postoperative pulmonary complications and operative death occurred in 66.7 and 33.3%, respectively. However, in the recent period (1985–1990), there was no postoperative morbidity or mortality in the five cases over age 80. On the other hand, there were 12 patients over age 80 who did not undergo operation, of whom all died of cancer. In the eight operated patients over age 80, two cases are still alive 17 and 34 months after operation. According to the above findings, when the patient's general condition is evaluated to be sufficient to tolerate the operation and the cancer is judged to be resectable, esophageal resection is thought to be indicative in all patients over eighty.