Validity of hepatic or pancreatic resection for elderly patients aged 85 years or older at a single community hospital in Japan

Aim: To evaluate the efficacy of age on the surgical outcomes in hepatic or pancreatic resection. Patients and Methods: We performed 50 hepatic or pancreatic resections in our community hospital and divided them into 2 groups based on age: patients aged 85 years old and patients aged <85 years old. We calculated the Estimation of Physiologic Ability and Surgical Stress (EPASS) score and the Physiological and Operative Severity Score for the enumeration of Mortality and Morbidity (POSSUM) system and compared the surgical outcome between the two groups. Results: There was no significant difference between the two groups with regard to E-PASS and POSSUM scores. Patients aged 85 years had a significantly higher frequency of anti-platelet agents. The incidence of postoperative complications and mortality in patients 85 years old were comparable to those in patients aged <85 years old. Conclusion: Hepatic or pancreatic resection for elderly patients aged 85 years or older can be safely performed under a given careful patient selection.