Geriatric neurosurgery in a suburban community: A preliminary review of a single neurosurgeon experience

Abstract

Background: Geriatric medicine is a growing specialty but the cut off age varies all over the world due to the variation in life expectancy. Neurosurgical procedures in this vulnerable age group pose remarkable challenges and require collaborative multidisplinary efforts to achieve optimal outcome. The aim of this review is to document preliminary outcomes of geriatric neurosurgery in our suburban community. Method: A review of a single neurosurgeon operative data of patients aged 60 years and above from July 2018 to June 2020. The pre-, intra- and post-operative data were prospectively collected and analyzed. The pre- and post-operative patients’ performance statuses were assessed using the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance Status (ECOG PS). Institutional ethical approval was obtained and data obtained were collated, computed and analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 20. Results: Twenty eight geriatric patients were operated by the first author over a period of twenty-four months. There were 16 (57.1%) females and 12(42.9%) males. The mean age was 69.2 ± 7.8 with age range 60 years to 92 years. Large proportion of our patients 20(71.4%) had comorbidities. Hypertension 18(64.3%) was the most common with four of them having coexisting diabetes mellitus. There was no incidence of surgical site infection and no perioperative mortality. Conclusion: Our review showed that elderly patients can tolerate neurosurgical procedures with satisfactory outcome. Age, presence of comorbidity and pre-operative performance status should not be used to deny this vulnerable population of neurosurgical procedures.

Keywords

• Gerontology
• Neurosurgery
• Geriatric population