[Results of the surgical treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia in geriatric patients]

To evaluate the effect of age in morbidity-mortality and outcomes of the surgical treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).

We performed a retrospective analysis of the medical records of 305 patients over 70 years undergoing surgery for BPH between 1999-2003, grouped in four categories depending on ages 70-80 years and over 80, and type of surgery (transurethral resection or open prostatectomy). The variables evaluated were: American society of anesthesiologists (ASA) operative risk classification, surgical indication, preoperative factors, postoperative outcome and follow-up. Statistical analysis was carried out with the Anova and chi-square tests (p = 0.05).

Open prostatectomy was performed in 59.1% of the cases and transurethral resection in the other 40.9%. 98.4% of the patients showed some degree of comorbidity. Indwelling transurethral catheter was the main clinical feature of patients undergoing surgery over 80 years of age; the main characteristic in patients between 70-80 years was the existence of severe symptoms. Urological complications appeared more frequently than general complications (14% vs. 10.1%). The most frequent urological complications were mild, mainly inflammatory-infectious diseases. Urological and general complications were more frequently observed in the open prostatectomy group, with no differences between ages. Patient satisfaction was high in the four groups (84.8%-96.2%). No case of perioperative mortality happened and only one patient died in the immediate post operative period.

We think the differences observed cannot be attributed to chronological age as clinical risk factor. Therefore, these patients could benefit of a definitive surgical treatment which will improve their quality of life.