• Home
  • Practice Focus
    • Facial Plastic/Reconstructive
    • Head and Neck
    • Laryngology
    • Otology/Neurotology
    • Pediatric
    • Rhinology
    • Sleep Medicine
    • How I Do It
    • TRIO Best Practices
  • Business of Medicine
    • Health Policy
    • Legal Matters
    • Practice Management
    • Tech Talk
    • AI
  • Literature Reviews
    • Facial Plastic/Reconstructive
    • Head and Neck
    • Laryngology
    • Otology/Neurotology
    • Pediatric
    • Rhinology
    • Sleep Medicine
  • Career
    • Medical Education
    • Professional Development
    • Resident Focus
  • ENT Perspectives
    • ENT Expressions
    • Everyday Ethics
    • From TRIO
    • The Great Debate
    • Letter From the Editor
    • Rx: Wellness
    • The Voice
    • Viewpoint
  • TRIO Resources
    • Triological Society
    • The Laryngoscope
    • Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology
    • TRIO Combined Sections Meetings
    • COSM
    • Related Otolaryngology Events
  • Search

Head and Neck Surgery: Postoperative Outcomes for Elderly Patients

by Lara C. Pullen, PhD • November 9, 2017

  • Tweet
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
Print-Friendly Version

Because age alone is a poor predictor of postoperative outcomes, the focus of the risk assessment should instead be on patient frailty and comorbidities, both of which are more predictive of outcomes than age. If the patient does opt for surgery, the surgeon should consider that free-flap reconstruction in the elderly can be performed with a high degree of success and that the flap outcome does not appear to be solely affected by age.

You Might Also Like

  • At-Home Postoperative Drain Removal Is Safe and Effective for Many Head and Neck Surgery Patients
  • Frailty, Not Age, May Predict Head–Neck Surgery Outcomes
  • COSM14: Sleep Disturbances Not To Be Overlooked in Elderly Otolaryngology Patients
  • Head and Neck Cancer Patients Who Don’t Drink or Smoke Have Worse Outcomes
Explore This Issue
November 2017

Dr. Pullen is a freelance medical writer based in Illinois.

Take-Home Points

  • The United States now has 45 million Americans who are 65 years or older.
  • Surgical outcomes for the elderly include physical and mental functions.
  • Tools such as the ACS NSQIP risk calculator can help surgeons predict which patients will experience complications or mortality from the procedure.
  • New data suggest that two-thirds of patients 80 years or older have no serious complications from otolaryngology surgery.

Questions to Ask When Deciding Whether to Operate

  • Can I get this patient through surgery and postoperative recovery?
  • Can this patient tolerate adjuvant therapy?
  • What are the patient’s comorbidities?
  • What is the patient’s cancer-free survival prognosis?
  • What is the natural expected life expectancy for this patient regardless of their cancer?
  • Is there benefit to locoregional disease control with surgery?
  • Are newer, novel, and effective nonsurgical options available?
  • What outcomes really matter to the patient?

Pages: 1 2 3 | Single Page

Filed Under: Features Tagged With: AAO-HNS annual meeting, AAO-HNSF Annual Meeting, clinical outcomes, head and neck surgery, postoperative outcomes, riskIssue: November 2017

You Might Also Like:

  • At-Home Postoperative Drain Removal Is Safe and Effective for Many Head and Neck Surgery Patients
  • Frailty, Not Age, May Predict Head–Neck Surgery Outcomes
  • COSM14: Sleep Disturbances Not To Be Overlooked in Elderly Otolaryngology Patients
  • Head and Neck Cancer Patients Who Don’t Drink or Smoke Have Worse Outcomes

The Triological SocietyENTtoday is a publication of The Triological Society.

Polls

Do you use AI-powered scribes for documentation?

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...
  • Polls Archive

Top Articles for Residents

  • Applications Open for Resident Members of ENTtoday Edit Board
  • How To Provide Helpful Feedback To Residents
  • Call for Resident Bowl Questions
  • New Standardized Otolaryngology Curriculum Launching July 1 Should Be Valuable Resource For Physicians Around The World
  • Do Training Programs Give Otolaryngology Residents the Necessary Tools to Do Productive Research?
  • Popular this Week
  • Most Popular
  • Most Recent
    • How to: Positioning for Middle Cranial Fossa Repair of Superior Semicircular Canal Dehiscence

    • Endoscopic Ear Surgery: Advancements and Adoption Challenges 

    • The Dramatic Rise in Tongue Tie and Lip Tie Treatment

    • Rating Laryngopharyngeal Reflux Severity: How Do Two Common Instruments Compare?

    • Otolaryngologists Are Still Debating the Effectiveness of Tongue Tie Treatment

    • The Dramatic Rise in Tongue Tie and Lip Tie Treatment

    • Rating Laryngopharyngeal Reflux Severity: How Do Two Common Instruments Compare?

    • Is Middle Ear Pressure Affected by Continuous Positive Airway Pressure Use?

    • Otolaryngologists Are Still Debating the Effectiveness of Tongue Tie Treatment

    • Complications for When Physicians Change a Maiden Name

    • The Importance of Time Away
    • Endoscopic Ear Surgery: Advancements and Adoption Challenges 
    • Reflections from a Past President of the Triological Society
    • ENT Surgeons Explore the Benefits and Challenges of AI-Powered Scribes: Revolutionizing Documentation in Healthcare
    • How To: Open Expansion Laryngoplasty for Combined Glottic and Subglottic Stenosis

Follow Us

  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • The Triological Society
  • The Laryngoscope
  • Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Cookies

Wiley

Copyright © 2025 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved, including rights for text and data mining and training of artificial technologies or similar technologies. ISSN 1559-4939