Surgery in centenarians
M. R. Katlic
Surgical problems do not end on a person's centennial, and as our overall
population ages, physicians will see increasing numbers of these most
senior citizens requiring surgery. Accordingly, the records of all
century-old patients who have undergone surgery at the Massachusetts
General Hospital in the years 1979 to 1983 were reviewed. Three men and
three women ranged in age from 100 to 104 years at the time of surgery. One
patient experienced complications, but all survived their operation and
lived one to two years afterward. The centenarian has already been tested
by life and found exceptionally fit. Selectivity and meticulous attention
to detail remain paramount in treating these patients, but elective surgery
should not be deferred, nor emergency surgery denied the centenarian on the
basis of chronologic age.
