Cholecystectomy in the elderly: a prospective study.

The mortality and morbidity of 151 elderly patients (greater than 64 years of age) undergoing biliary surgery for benign disease were prospectively studied. The overall mortality was 3.3 per cent. This comprised a 0.77 per cent mortality in the elective group and a 19 per cent mortality in the emergency group. In spite of 77 per cent of the emergency group having a gangrenous gallbladder, a complication difficult to predict preoperatively, the majority of deaths were from cardiovascular disease. The overall incidence of common bile duct exploration was 36 per cent, which was similar in the elective and emergency groups. A comparison between the old (65-74 years) and the aged (over 74 years of age) revealed twice the number of emergency cases in the aged. Considering elective biliary surgery, there was no difference between the mortality, morbidity, or common bile duct exploration rate comparing the old with the aged. This suggests that elective biliary surgery is safe even in the aged.