Ambulatory and inpatient surgery: national patterns for the elderly.

In 1996 the elderly made 13.6 million visits to ambulatory and inpatient settings for surgery. This was 401.0 visits per 1,000 population, which was approximately three and a half times the rate of 114.4 for persons under 65. A total of 25.3 million procedures were performed during these visits. More of the elderly's procedures were performed during inpatient visits (14.5 million procedures) than during ambulatory visits (10.7 million procedures). Three-quarters of the procedures performed on the elderly were in four categories: operations on the eye, cardiovascular operations, operations on the digestive system, and miscellaneous diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. The leading procedures for this age group were extraction of lens, insertion of lens, arteriography and angiocardiography, and endoscopies of small and large intestines. Women who comprised the majority of the elderly population had a larger number of procedures than men, but elderly men had a higher rate per 1,000 population. The 65-74 year-old group had the largest number of procedures, followed by 75-84 year-olds and then the 85 years and older group, reflecting the decreasing population size of these age groups. But the 75-84 year and 85 years and over groups had higher rates of procedures than those aged 65 to 74.