THE INFLUENCE OF AGE ON LONG-TERM SURVIVAL PATTERN OF PATIENTS OPERATED ON FOR LOWER-LIMB ISCHEMIA

Objective: To study the long-term survival patterns of patients subjec ted to surgery for lower limb ischaemia. Design: A retrospective clini cal study. Setting: University Hospital. Materials: A series of 1411 p atients older than 50 years operated on for all stages of lower limb i schaemia. Chief outcome measures: Observed and expected long-term surv ival rates were calculated. Relative survival, defined as the ratio of the observed to the expected survival rates, runs studied for age inf luence. Main results: The observed 10 year survival rate of 26% was si gnificantly lower than the expected of 49%. Although women were 8 year s older than men at the time of the operation they had similar long-te rm survival and relative survival. An inverse proportionality was foun d between the patient's age at the time of the operation and relative survival. The young patients experienced a 10 year mortality rate thre e to four times the expected, while the older had a mortality that was elevated 25-50% from the expected. Conclusions: Patients operated on for lower limb ischaemia experience a significantly lower long-term su rvival than that of a demographically matched population. This relativ e survival is significantly influenced by the patient's age at the tim e of the operation.