Abstract
Forty-three patients aged 70 or more undergoing total gastrectomy in our clinic because of gastric cancers during the past 23 years were examined as to their clinical backgrounds, and in the case of curative surgery, elderly patients were compared with those aged less than 39 with respect to long-term recovery states after the operation. In addition, the significance of noncurative total gastrectomy for elderly patients is discussed. In the curative cases, postoperative recovery of the serum total protein level and rehabilitation were satisfactory, while body weight and red cell counts did not become normalized smoothly, and anemia was likely to deteriorate, particulary five to seven years after the surgery. Of the noncurative cases, 39% lived satisfactory daily lives though only for a short term. Thus, it is concluded that every possible effort should be made to carry out total gastrectomy even in elderly patients with gastric cancers if they have indications for surgery, taking operative and postoperative management into consideration.
