[A clinical observation on aged patients subjected to urological surgery]

A clinical analysis was made on 44 inpatients over 80 years old at our department from 1980 to 1984. Forty-three urological surgeries were performed on 36 out of the 44 patients, accounting for 3.4% of all the inpatients. Benign prostatic hypertrophy, which was the most popular disease in our study, was seen in 20 patients. Preoperative examinations revealed one or more complications besides urological disorders in 35 patients (97.5%), 11 patients of which needed some prophylactic treatments prior to urological surgery. Although major postoperative complications consisted of heart disease in 4 patients, gastrointestinal tract disease in 3 patients, and pulmonary disease in 2 patients, there was no operative death. Postoperative laboratory test results revealed hypoproteinemia in 16 patients (44.4%). Postoperative urological complications such as wound dehiscence, urinary fistula, or acute epididymitis occurred in 9 patients, all of whom had urinary tract infections. These results suggest that aged patients have fewer problems if extensive preoperative examinations and active treatments for any abnormality are made and careful attention is paid to postoperative complications.