In-Hospital and Long-Term outcomes after Open-Heart Surgery in Turkish Octogenarians: a Single-Center Study

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to analyze the early and long-term results of open-heart surgery in Turkish patients aged 80 years or older who were operated on at our center. METHODS: All patients aged 80 years or older who underwent surgery between January 2000 and December 2013 at a high-level heart center were included in the study. The in-hospital data of study patients were obtained from the electronic database and from the hospital files. Survival data were analyzed as a long-term outcome. RESULTS: A total of 245 patients aged 80-93 years were evaluated in the study. The patients were followed up 5.4±3.7 years after open-heart surgery. In-hospital mortality rates were 10% in elective cases and 15.1% overall. Age ≥85 years, chronic kidney disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and emergency surgery were independent predictors of in-hospital mortality. The median survival time was found to be 4.4±0.3 years for all participants. The long-term survival of patients who underwent emergency cardiac surgery was significantly lower than that of elective patients (log-rank <0.001). CONCLUSION: Octogenarians have satisfactory long-term outcomes after open-heart surgery when operated electively. On the other hand, patients operated under emergency conditions have worse in-hospital outcomes and long-term follow-up results.