[Thymectomy for late-onset myasthenia gravis in the elderly (with report of 23 cases)]

To evaluate the effect of thymectomy in the treatment of late-onset myasthenia gravis (MG) in the elderly.Twenty-three such cases receiving thymectomy were followed up.MG was more frequent in male patients in the elderly, with generalized MG more prevalent that was often complicated by thymoma and myasthenia crisis. The total effective rate of the surgical intervention was 43.5 %.Thymectomy is applicable in late-onset MG in the elderly in spite of the fact that its effect is not as good as that in younger patients.