title: Pelvic organ prolapse surgery in elderly patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Pelvic organ prolapse (POP) can cause incomplete bladder emptying or hydronephrosis and renal failure. These are serious conditions, especially in elderly women, requiring resolution of POP. Pessary use is an alternative, but there are specific problems or patients may not want it. We therefore conducted a retrospective study on surgical treatment of elderly women with respect to the type of surgery and intra- and postoperative complications.
  
  
  METHODS
  From two urogynecologic centers, we reviewed treatment data between 2003 and 2013, including patients ≥80 years of age. From the hospital records, intra- and postoperative data were extracted.
  
  
  RESULTS
  91 cases met the inclusion criteria. Mean age was 84.38 years (±3.05, max 92 years). Two patients (2.2%) were diagnosed with hydronephrosis and two with urosepsis/renal failure. The mean length of surgery was 81 min (±45 min, range 10-270), 94.5% of patients were under general anesthesia. Two bowel lesions occurred. The mean length of hospital stay was 8 days (range 1-22, n = 90). There were no perioperative mortalities. Six patients (6.6%) were admitted to intensive care unit.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In the future, we will be facing a growing number of elderly women seeking care for POP. In our retrospective analysis, we were able to show that POP surgery could be performed safely. We therefore consider surgical treatment as a valuable alternative if pessary use is not an option.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Medical Center, Hugstetterstr. 55, 79106, Freiburg, Germany. juliane.farthmann@uniklinik-freiburg.de.
authors.forename: Juliane
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8338-3531
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Farthmann
authors.affiliation: Evangelisches Diakoniekrankenhaus Freiburg, Wirthstr. 11, 79110, Freiburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Dirk
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Watermann
authors.affiliation: St. Josefs-Hospital Wiesbaden, Beethovenstr. 20, 65189, Wiesbaden, Germany.
authors.forename: Haiko
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zamperoni
authors.affiliation: St. Josefs-Hospital Wiesbaden, Beethovenstr. 20, 65189, Wiesbaden, Germany.
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wolf
authors.affiliation: Sana Klinikum Lichtenberg, Fanningerstr. 32, 10365, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Fink
authors.affiliation: St. Josefs-Hospital Wiesbaden, Beethovenstr. 20, 65189, Wiesbaden, Germany.
authors.forename: Boris
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Gabriel
mesh_terms: D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006869:Hydronephrosis / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D007902:Length of Stay; D056887:Pelvic Organ Prolapse / Q000601:surgery*; D010570:Pessaries / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014552:Urinary Tract Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: Elderly; Operative risk; Pelvic organ prolapse; Surgery