[Lung surgery in the elderly]

Lung surgery in the elderly, once considered a major risk, to be avoided if possible has become more popular in recent years as a result of many factors. First: lung cancer incidence has increased significantly in every age group but mostly in the elderly. Second: diagnosis at an early stage of the disease is higher in patients over 70 due to more frequent medical control in old subjects. Third: we now have more and more humans over 80 and a life expectancy increasing over the years. Fourth: preoperative, operative and postoperative medical supports are now safer and more reliable than previously. Operability criteria in the elderly are substantially the same as in younger group of patients for lung cancer. There are no reasons to refuse surgery in a subject over 80 because he is old. Lobectomy is the procedure of choice for lung cancer even in the elderly. Pneumonectomy must be avoided preferring a less radical procedure (wedge resection) so avoiding the risk of a postoperative respiratory failure that is often fatal for a patient with in border line functional respiratory tests, as often happens in the elderly. Thoracoscopic atypical resections must be considered in patients when a wedge resection is indicated preoperatively and almost always metastatic pulmonary lesion.