Changing patterns of prostatectomy in Scotland: 1971-1989

Analysis of 81,374 prostatectomies performed in Scotland between 1971 and 1989 showed that the annual prostatectomy rate (per 100,000 men) increased 3-fold for procedures performed by urologists, but remained static for general surgeons. In 1971, transurethral prostatectomy comprised 16% of all prostatectomies performed by general surgeons and 55% of those performed by urologists, but by 1989 it comprised 93% of prostatectomies performed by general surgeons and 96.5% of those performed by urologists. The relative increase in the annual number of prostatectomies was greatest (2.61) in the older age group (80-89 years) and smallest (1.76) in the younger age group (60-69 years). The relative increase in the age-specific prostatectomy rate was greatest (1.79) in the youngest age group (50-59 years) and smallest (1.54) in the oldest age group (80-89 years). This indicates that the increase in the annual number of prostatectomies performed in the older age groups is largely the result of an increase in the number of elderly men in the population, but this is compounded by an expansion of the indications for prostatectomy in all age groups.