Robotic Surgery in the Frail Elderly: Analysis of Perioperative Outcomes

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.

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.

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.

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.