Comparative benefits of laparoscopic surgery for colorectal cancer in octogenarians: a case-matched comparison of short- and long-term outcomes with middle-aged patients

The aim of this study was to compare the postoperative short- and long-term outcomes after laparoscopic colorectal surgery (LCS) between octogenarians and healthy middle-aged patients. Between January 1997 and July 2009, 655 consecutive laparoscopic surgeries for colorectal cancer patients were operated by 1 colorectal surgeon. Ninety-three patients were octogenarians (≥80 years), and 133 patients were case-matched middle-aged (60–69 years) patients. We analyzed the mean operative time, blood loss, type of surgery for rectal cancer, length of hospital stay, mortality, and morbidity. The overall survival curve was constructed using the Kaplan–Meier method. The American Society of Anesthesiologists classification was significantly higher in the octogenarians than in the middle-aged controls. However, there were no significant differences between the two groups in terms of the incidence of morbidities (11.7 vs. 9.2 %) and length of hospital stay (12.1 vs. 10.9 days). The number of lymph nodes harvested was significantly fewer (p