Mortality after transurethral prostatectomy

In 68 patients aged 80 to 94 who underwent transurethral prostatectomy between 1981 and 1987, the survival rate after the procedure was higher than that of the general population of the same age distribution. In nine patients aged 62 to 92 for whom transurethral prostatectomy was indicated but not performed because of concomitant medical problems (including cardiac problems in four, advanced cancer in two, dementia in two, and pulmonary disease in one), the survival rate was much lower, seven of the nine dying within 13 months. High mortality reported in men undergoing transurethral prostatectomy may be due to concomitant medical problems rather than aftereffects of the surgery.