Pancreatic surgery in elderly patients

Materials and methods 122 pts (M: 65; F: 57), over 70 years of age, affected with pancreatic pathologies, were considered. Pre-existing comorbidities were mainly represented by: hypertension, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes mellitus, coronary artery disease, cardiac valve disease. Percutaneous and or endoscopic US-guided biopsy of the pancreas for histopathologic demonstration of cancer before surgery or chemotherapy was always performed. 88 pts suffered from cancer of the pancreas; 6 from benign tumors of the pancreas; 26 from pancreatitis; 1 from cancer of the transverse colon infiltrating the pancreas and the stomach and 1 from cancer of the stomach infiltrating the head of the pancreas.