Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-dsjbd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-29T14:39:49.410Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Head and neck surgery in the elderly: a maturing problem

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 June 2007

M. Harries
Affiliation:
Professorial Unit, Institute of Laryngology and Otology, Gray's Inn Road, London WC1X 8DA
V. J. Lund*
Affiliation:
Professorial Unit, Institute of Laryngology and Otology, Gray's Inn Road, London WC1X 8DA
*
Valerie Lund, MS, F.R.C.S., Professorial Unit, Institute of Laryngology and Otology, Gray's Inn Road, London WC1X 8DA.

Abstract

The number of elderly patients requiring oncologic head and neck surgery is increasing as this proportion of the population continues to grow. To establish the specific problems and relative risks, 100 patients, 70 years of age and over have been examined to determine post-operative mortality and morbidity. Results do not show these to be significantly increased in the elderly and support an aggressive approach to head and neck cancer management in these patients.

Type
Main Articles
Copyright
Copyright © JLO (1984) Limited 1989

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Baker, H. W. (1963) Surgical management of recurrent laryngeal cancer after radiation. Cancer, 16: 774779.Google Scholar
Beahrs, O. H. (1973) Factors minimising mortality and morbidity rates in head and neck surgery. American Journal of Surgery, 126: 443451.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Blake, R. and Lynn, J. (1976) Emergency abdominal surgery in the aged. British Journal of Surgery, 63: 956960.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Burnett, W. and McCaffrey, J. (1972) Surgical procedures in the elderly. Surgery, Gynecology and Obstetrics, 134: 221226.Google Scholar
Cheesman, A. D., Lund, V. J. and Howard, D. J. (1986) Craniofacial resection for tumours of the nose and paranasal sinuses. Head and Neck Surgery, 8: 429435.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Conley, J. J. (1979) Complications of head and neck surgery. W. B. Saunders, Philadelphia, London, Toronto.Google Scholar
Cousins, V. C., Milton, C. M. and Bickerton, R. C. (1987) Total laryngectomy: mortality and morbidity. Journal of Laryngology and Otology, 101: 11591164.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ellison, N. (1975) Problems in geriatric anesthesia. Surgical Clinics of North America, 55: 929945.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Harrison, D. F. N. (1986) Pharyngolarngoesophagectomy with pharyngogastric anastomosis for cancer of the hypopharynx. Head and Neck Surgery, 8: 418428.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Innes, A. J., Windle-Taylor, P. C. and Harrison, D. F. N. (1980) The role of metronidazole in the prevention of fistulae following total laryngectomy. Clinical Oncology, 6: 7177.Google ScholarPubMed
Johnson, J. T., Rabuzzi, D. D. and Tucker, H. M. (1977) Composite resection in the elderly—a well tolerated procedure. Laryngoscope, 87: 15091515.Google Scholar
Joseph, D. L. and Shumrick, D. L. (1973) Risks of head and neck surgery in previously irradiated patients. Archives of Otolaryngology, 97: 381384.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jovan, L. D. and John, H. W. (1979) Prediction of outcome of surgery and anesthesia in patients over 80. Journal of the American Medical Association, 242: 23012306.Google Scholar
Jun, M. Y., Strong, E. W., Saltzman, E. I. and Gerold, F. P. (1983) Head and neck cancer in the elderly. Head and Neck Surgery, 5: 376382.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kohn, P., Zekert, F., Vormittag, E., Grabner, H. (1973) Risks of operation in patients over 80. Geriatrics, 28: 100105.Google Scholar
Loewy, A. and Huttner, D. J. (1966) Head and neck surgery in patients past 70. Archives of Otolaryngology, 84: 523526.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Marshall, W. H. and Fahey, P. J. (1964) Operative complications and mortality in patients over 80 years of age. Archives of Surgery, 88: 896903.Google Scholar
Martin, H., Rasmussen, L. H. and Perras, L. (1955) Head and neck surgery in patients of the older age groups. Cancer, 8: 707711.Google Scholar
McGuirt, W. F., Loevy, S., McCabe, B. F. and Krause, C. J. (1977) The risks of major head and neck surgery in the aged population. Laryngoscope, 87: 13781382.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Morgan, R. F., Hirata, R. M., Jaques, D. A. and Hooper, J. E. (1982) Head and neck surgery in the aged. American Journal of Surgery, 144: 449451.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ochsner, A. (1967) Is risk of indicated operation too great in the elderly? Geriatrics, 22: 121130.Google Scholar
Office for population censuses and surveys. 1971 population estimates for England and Wales. PP1 72/1.Google Scholar
Office for population censuses and surveys. Mid 1986 population estimates for England and Wales. PP1 87/1.Google Scholar
Pollock, A. V. and Evans, M. (1987) Major abdominal operations on patients age 80 and over: an audit. British Medical Journal, 295: 1522.Google Scholar
Suen, K. C., Leon, L. L. and Yermakov, V. (1974) Cancer and old age, an autopsy study of 3,535 patients over 65 years old. Cancer, 33: 11641168.Google Scholar
Trible, W. M. (1957) The effect of preoperative radiation on subsequent surgery in cancer of the larynx. Annals of Otology, Rhinology and Laryngology, 66: 953962.Google Scholar
Williams, R. G. and Murtagh, G. P. (1973) Mortality in surgery for head and neck cancer. Journal of Laryngology and Otology, 87: 431440.Google Scholar
Yarington, C. T., Yonkers, A. J. and Beddoe, G. M. (1973) Radical neck dissection—mortality and morbidity. Archives of Otolaryngology, 97: 306308.Google Scholar