Is Age over 70 Years a Risk Factor for Pneumonectomy?

The lengthening of life expectancy has led to more surgical procedures in elderly patients. The aim of this work was to determine whether age >70 years is a risk factor for pneumonectomy. All cases of pneumonectomy from January 1999 to December 2006 were retrospectively reviewed. The 40 patients aged >70 years were compared with a group of 70 patients aged 40-68 years matched for sex, physical status, respiratory function, side of pneumonectomy, and pathologic stage. Postoperatively, significantly more older patients had atrial fibrillation (24% vs. 5.6%). There was a low incidence of respiratory complications in both groups, and reduced respiratory function did not increase respiratory morbidity. Thirty-day mortality was not significantly different (2.5% in older vs. 1.4% in younger patients), but long-term mortality rates evaluated at December 31, 2007 were 50% for those aged <70 years (35 patients) and 72.5% for the older group. Although age is a risk factor for morbidity and mortality in pneumonectomy, the risk is acceptable.