Background: Although pancreaticoduodenectomy has been recognized in the past for its severe complications, improvements in operative methods and perioperative management have made it a safe procedure. Therefore, pancreaticoduodenectomy can be performed in elderly patients, and our experience and outcomes are described in this report.
Methods: We retrospectively investigated 142 patients in whom pancreaticoduodenectomy was performed without stenting tubes during pancreaticojejunostomy. The patients were classified into two groups: (A) those older and (B) younger than 75 years. The outcomes, including preoperative characteristics, intraoperative characteristics, postoperative complications and mortality, are herein reported. Continuous variables were compared using Student's t test and the Chi-square test.
Results: There were no differences between groups A and B in terms of sex, operative time, amount of blood loss, performance status, soft pancreas rate, disease distribution and operative procedure. Comorbidities in groups A and B were statistically different. Regarding the preoperative status, the elderly patients exhibited lower serum albumin and hemoglobin levels than the younger patients. There were no differences in mortality (0 vs. 0 %), morbidity (24.3 vs. 29.5 %, p = 0.362), postoperative hospital days or major complications such as pancreatic fistula development, delayed gastric emptying, intra-abdominal abscess development, biliary fistula formation and postpancreatectomy hemorrhage.
Conclusions: Pancreaticoduodenectomy can be safely performed in elderly as well as younger patients.