2019 Volume 65 Issue 1 Pages 11-17
We examined the risk of treatment using the POSSUM score for elderly (> 80 years old) head and neck squamous cell carcinoma patients, a population that has been growing in recent years. Twenty-one patients who had undergone surgery at the Department of Otolaryngology, Kyushu University Hospital, from September 2011 to August 2016 were analyzed. We compared the 8 patients in the postoperative complication group to the 13 patients in the no postoperative complication group. The predicted risk of complications calculated by the POSSUM score was 65% in the postoperative complication group and 48% in the no postoperative complication group. There was no significant difference between the groups, but the risk in the postoperative complication group tended to be higher than that in the no postoperative complication group. The predicted risk of complications was high in patients with serious complications, including some who died. In conclusion, it is important to review the general status and consider the operative stress of patients before surgery and to make a plan to prevent complications.
