Aims: To compare the immediate results obtained after performing a carotid endarterectomy (cEDA) in patients in their eighties with those of younger patients, and to determine survival and stroke-free times following carotid surgery in the two groups.
Patients and methods: Retrospective data was collected regarding a series of 319 cases of cEDA (302 patients) performed between January 1998 and December 2004. Group 1: patients aged 80 or above. Group 2: the rest of the series. Sample follow-up: clinical and by means of carotid duplex.
Results: Mean age of the sample: 70.7 years (41-86). Group 1 was made up of 30 patients (9.4% of the series). Mortality rate: group 1, 3.3%; group 2, 1%; p=0.32. Major stroke-death incidence: group 1, 6.7%; group 2, 1.4%; p= 0.1. Median follow-up time: 36 months (1-87). Total mortality of the series throughout follow-up: 36 patients (12.6%). Mortality rate: group 1, 25%; group 2, 11.3%; p=0.04; relative risk: 2.6 (1.02-6.7). Stroke: group 1, 14.3%; group 2, 2.3%; p=0.01; relative risk: 7 (1.8-26.4). At five years, 96.7% were free of strokes (group 1: 84%; group 2, 97.7%; p=0.0001). At five years, 82.4% survived free of strokes (group 1: 61%; group 2, 84.4%; p=0.004).
Conclusions: The risk of perioperative complications is higher in patients in their eighties than in younger patients, although the increase is not statistically significant. Even though the risk of a stroke during follow-up was higher in the eighty-year-olds, 84% of the subjects in this group remained stroke-free at five years. The high stroke-free survival rate in the medium to long term means that cEDA can be especially beneficial for patients in their eighties.