Too Old for Surgery? Outcomes of Hip Fracture Surgery in Centenarians.

Dear Editor, Advancement in healthcare has significantly improved overall life expectancy and it comes as no surprise that centenarians (individuals aged 100 years and above) are projected to increase by 17 fold to 3.2 million by the year 2050.1 Ranked fourth in longest life expectancy, Singapore has already seen a 3-fold increase in 2010 to 724 centenarians just within a decade.2,3 Since osteoporosis-related fracture risk does not diminish with advanced age, hip fracture remains a significant cause of increased morbidity and mortality in this group of patients. Management of centenarian hip fracture is especially challenging, as both healthcare providers and patients may be unwilling to consider corrective hip surgery in view of their age and perceived high anaesthetic risks. Few studies on centenarian hip fracture outcomes have been done previously and this is the first study of the centenarian population in Singapore.