Are There Differences in Laparoscopic Gastrectomy Morbidity and Mortality Between Young and Older?

Abstract

Background: Due to the longer life expectancy and consequently an increase in the elderly population, a higher incidence of gastric cancer is expected in this population in the coming decades. Aim: To compare the results of laparoscopic GC surgical treatment between individuals aged<65 years (group I) and ≥ 65 years (group II), according to clinical, surgical, and histopathological characteristics. Methods: A observational retrospective study was performed by analyzing medical charts of patients with gastric cancer undergoing total or subtotal laparoscopic gastrectomy for curative purposes by a single oncologic surgery team. Results: Thirty-six patients were included in each group. Regarding the ASA classification, 31% of the patients in group I was ASA 1, compared to 3.1% in group II. The mean number of concomitant medications in group II was statistically superior to group I (5±4.21 x 1.42±3.08, p<0.001). Subtotal gastrectomy was the most performed procedure in both groups (69.4% and 63.9% in groups I and II, respectively) due to the high prevalence of distal tumors in both groups, 54.4% group I and 52.9% group II. According to Lauren's classification, group I presented a predominance of diffuse tumors (50%) and group II the intestinal type (61.8%). There was no difference between the two groups regarding the number of resected lymph nodes and lymph node metastases and the days of hospitalization and mortality. Conclusion: Laparoscopic gastrectomy showed to be a safe procedure, without a statistical difference in morbidity, mortality, and hospitalization time between both groups.