title: Perioperative complications and prognosis for elderly patients with spinal metastases treated by surgical strategy.
abstract: The rapidly aging population and improved long-term survival due to advancement of cancer treatment have expanded the role of surgical treatment in elderly patients with metastatic spinal disease. The purpose of this study was to evaluate in elderly patients the perioperative complications and prognosis for metastatic spinal disease. Thirty-two elderly patients (>70 years) who underwent surgical treatment based on Tomita's surgical strategy for spinal metastasis since 1999 were retrospectively reviewed. Mean survival time of 15 patients with 2 to 4 points in surgical strategy was 23.6 months; of 10 patients with 5 to 7 points was 15.2 months; and of 7 patients with 8 to 10 points was 5.2 months. In 5 elderly patients (15.6%), the appropriate surgical choice based on the surgical strategy was not possible due to their preoperative conditions. Perioperative complications encountered were respiratory in 6 patients (18.8%), cardiovascular in 3 (9.4%), and delirium in 4 (12.5%). In the nonelderly 161 patients, respiratory complications occurred in 4 patients (2.5%), cardiovascular in 1 (0.6%), and delirium in 2 (1.2%). Respiratory complications and delirium occurred at a significantly higher frequency in the elderly group. Even for elderly patients, the postoperative prognosis could be predicted by the surgical strategy. However, the optimal surgical procedure may deviate from that predicted by the surgical strategy due to their preoperative conditions and an increased risk for perioperative complications. Despite the increased potential for complications, more radical procedures, such as total en bloc spondylectomy, should not be avoided solely due to advanced patient age.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Japan. hmuraka@med.kanazawa-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Hideki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Murakami
authors.forename: Norio
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kawahara
authors.forename: Satoru
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Demura
authors.forename: Satoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kato
authors.forename: Katsuhito
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yoshioka
authors.forename: Takeshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sasagawa
authors.forename: Katsuro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tomita
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000401:mortality*; D015984:Causality; D015897:Comorbidity; D003693:Delirium / Q000401:mortality*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D019635:Neurosurgical Procedures / Q000401:mortality*; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000401:mortality*; D015995:Prevalence; D011379:Prognosis; D012120:Respiration Disorders / Q000401:mortality*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D013125:Spinal Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000556:secondary* / Q000601:surgery*; D013534:Survival; D016896:Treatment Outcome