Age is no contraindication to thyroid surgery

Background: there is increased risk of surgical treatment in elderly patien ts, but little has been written on the safety and efficacy of thyroid surge ry in this group. Objective: to determine if there is an increased risk of morbidity and mort ality of thyroid surgery in patients over 75 years old. Patients and methods: during the period 1986-96, 1631 patients aged 50 and over underwent 1673 procedures by two surgeons in our unit. We retrospectiv ely compared indications for surgery, procedures, pathology, complications and mortality in three groups: 50-60-year-olds (725 patients), 61-74-year-o lds (685 patients) and those aged 75 years and over (221 patients) Results: the main indication for surgery in all three groups was compressio n or risk of malignancy. Total thyroidectomy was the main procedure perform ed. Although benign multinodular goitre was the commonest diagnosis, the ov er-75-year-olds had fewer benign multinodular goitres than the 61-74 group and more malignancy than the other two groups. There was no significant dif ference in mortality between the three groups. Conclusions: surgery in patients over 75 is as safe as in younger patients with no increase in morbidity and mortality. Benign multinodular goitre is the most common indication for surgery.