Laparoscopic nephrectomy outcomes of elderly patients in the 21st century

As life expectancy continues to increase, we will be faced with the need to counsel older patients on the risks and benefits of undergoing surgery. It is clear that laparoscopic renal surgery has significant benefits over open renal surgery. However, contemporary data on whether these benefits carry over to the elderly is less robust. The objective of this study is to compare the perioperative outcomes of laparoscopic nephrectomy in patients age 70 and over to those under age 70. Outcomes from the study can be used to assist in preoperative counseling for older patients.

Between February 2000 and December 2005, 405 consecutive patients underwent laparoscopic nephrectomy for benign or malignant conditions. To decrease selection bias, kidney donors, bilateral nephrectomies, partial nephrectomies, as well as patients under the age of 17 were excluded. Laparoscopic nephrectomies included simple nephrectomies, radical nephrectomies, and nephroureterectomies. A total of 158 patients were included in the analysis. Patient demographics and perioperative data were recorded prospectively. The preoperative American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score was used to reflect patient co-morbidity. Subset analysis between pure laparoscopic nephrectomy (LN) and hand-assisted laparoscopic nephrectomy (HALN) was also performed.

Average hospital stay for patients 70 years and older was 3.6 days versus 2.6 days for their younger counterparts (p = 0.02). All other demographic and perioperative parameters were comparable between groups, including incidence of intraoperative or postoperative complications, blood transfusions, and conversions to open surgery. In a subset analysis of patients undergoing HALN, despite having similar co-morbid conditions (ASA score 2.57 vs. 2.56, p = 0.9), the elderly group had a significantly increased length of stay compared to patients younger than 70 years (3.0 vs. 4.2 days, p < 0.05). However, in the group undergoing LN, there was no statistically significant difference in hospital stay (3.1 vs. 2.4 days, p = 0.22), despite the older group having higher co-morbid conditions (ASA score 2.55 vs. 2.10, p < 0.01).

Other than an increased hospital stay by one day, patients 70 years and older undergoing laparoscopic nephrectomy can expect comparable perioperative outcomes to those achieved in younger patients. Such differences in the length of hospital stay may be mitigated by pure laparoscopic nephrectomy as opposed to hand-assisted laparoscopic nephrectomy in patients 70 years or older. These data may be useful in preoperative decision-making and counseling in this growing subset of patients.