title: Hernias of the abdominal wall in patients over the age of 70 years.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To find out if the patients' age affects the treatment of abdominal hernias and the results in relation of the age increase.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective and prospective study.
  
  
  METHODS
  University hospital, Spain.
  
  
  METHODS
  664 patients aged 70 years or more operated on for abdominal hernia between 1986-1998. Patients were divided into three groups: 443 aged 70-79; 202 aged 80-89; and 19 patients aged 90 years or more.
  
  
  METHODS
  Perioperative risk, type of surgery and deaths.
  
  
  RESULTS
  117 women (52%) had femoral hernias, compared with 32 men (7%) (p = 0.0001). The incidence of femoral hernia over 80 years of age was 79/221 (36%) compared with 70/443 (16%) among patients in their seventies (p = 0.0001). 97 of the patients aged 70-79 (22%) were operated on as emergencies, 107 of those aged 80-89 (53%), and 17 in patients 90 or older (89%, p = 0.0001). The mortality rate was 1% in the 70-79 group (n = 6), 5% (n = 10) in the 80-89 group, and 3/19 died in the over 90 group (p = 0.0001). No deaths were reported after elective surgery.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Emergency operations in elderly patients with abdominal wall hernias are increasingly more common as the patient get older. As result, there is an unacceptable increase in postoperative mortality.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University Hospital Río Hortega, Valladolid, Spain. jujoarve@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Juan J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Arenal
authors.forename: Paloma
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rodríguez-Vielba
authors.forename: Emiliano
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gallo
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tinoco
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D017558:Elective Surgical Procedures; D004630:Emergencies; D005260:Female; D006555:Hernia, Ventral / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors