title: [Surgery for intracranial meningiomas in patients older than 80 years].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate surgery for intracranial meningiomas in very elderly patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  We retrospectively reviewed the clinical, radiological and therapeutic data of patients older than 80 years who underwent surgery for symptomatic intracranial meningioma at our institution between May 1998 and February 2005. We estimated operative mortality and morbidity and patients' functional status at 3 months and one year after surgery as well as at their last clinical evaluation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Eleven patients met these inclusion criteria: 5 men and 6 women, with a mean age of 83 years (range: 81-87 years). There was no perioperative mortality and one patient with perioperative morbidity (hemiplegia). Three months after surgery, the condition of 6 patients had improved, while it had not changed for 4 and had worsened for one. One year after surgery, 5 had improved, 5 were unchanged, and one patient had died. Of the 10 patients alive one year after surgery, 8 had Karnofsky scores> or =80 (self-sufficient). Three patients died more than one year after surgery of causes unrelated to their meningioma.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Old age does not contraindicate surgery for intracranial meningiomas. Surgery should be proposed for patients older than 80 years with symptomatic intracranial meningioma.
authors.affiliation: Service de neurochirurgie, Hôpital Pontchaillou, Rennes (35). laurent.riffaud@chu-rennes.fr
authors.forename: Laurent
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Riffaud
authors.forename: Alejandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mazzon
authors.forename: Claire
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Haegelen
authors.forename: Abderrahmane
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hamlat
authors.forename: Xavier
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Morandi
mesh_terms: D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008577:Meningeal Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery*; D008579:Meningioma / Q000601:surgery*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome