Published in:
01-10-2020 | Health Services Research and Global Oncology
Robotic Surgery in the Frail Elderly: Analysis of Perioperative Outcomes
Published in: Annals of Surgical Oncology | Issue 10/2020
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Purpose
The frail are considered at higher risk for unfavorable surgical outcomes (major complications/mortality). We assessed the safety of and outcomes associated with robotic surgery in the frail elderly undergoing gynecologic procedures.
Methods
We identified patients aged ≥ 65 years who underwent a robotic procedure between May 2007 and December 2016. Frailty was defined as the presence of at least three of five frailty factors—more than five comorbidities, low physical activity, weight loss, exhaustion, and fatigue. Perioperative outcomes were recorded. We compared variables among frail and non-frail patients and performed a multivariate logistic regression to detect variables associated with major complications (≥ grade 3) or 90-day mortality.
Results
We identified 982 patients: 71 frail and 911 non-frail patients. Median age was 71 years. Median BMI was 29.8 kg/m2. Thirty-four patients (3.5%) had a 30-day readmission. Seventy-seven (7.8%) had a postoperative complication, of which 23 (2.3%) were major. Ninety-day mortality was 0.5%. There were significant differences with regard to age (P < 0.001), body mass index (BMI) (P < 0.001) and performance status (P < 0.001); the frail were more likely to have had surgery for oncologic reasons (P = 0.047). There were differences in hospital stay (P < 0.001), postoperative (P = 0.042) and major complications (P = 0.007), and 90-day mortality (P = 0.05). At multivariable logistic regression, age ≥ 85 was associated with major complications. BMI, performance status, and major complications were associated with 90-day mortality.
Conclusions
The frail elderly have longer hospital stays and more complications after surgery than the general population, consistent with the reported literature. Careful selection of surgical candidates is required.