Author(s)
Valerie L. Lim, MBS
Rose S. Maisner, BS
Chris B. Choi, BS
Soly S. Baredes, MD FACS
Richard C. Park, MD FACS
Affiliation(s)
Rutgers New Jersey Medical School;
Abstract:
Educational Objective: At the conclusion of this presentation, the participants should be able to discuss the importance of advancing age and its association with rates of complications following outpatient parotidectomy surgeries. Objectives: To investigate the association between age and rates of postoperative complications in outpatient parotidectomy in order to evaluate the safety of geriatric outpatient parotidectomy. Study Design: Retrospective database review. Methods: The 2005-2015 National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) database was utilized. Patients were divided into subgroups: youthful control (age 21-40, n=474), elderly (aged 65-79, n=959), and super elderly (aged >= 80, n=166). Exact Test analysis and multivariate logistic regression were conducted to determine the independent effect of covariates age, gender, race, and medical complications on postoperative complication rates. Results: 3,107 outpatient parotidectomy cases were identified. 49.8% were female and 50.2% were male. The elderly had a statistically higher mean BMI than the youthful control (30.12 vs 28.99, p = 0.009). Exact Test analysis showed a significant association between age and medical complication rates (control 0.2%, elderly 0.9%, and super elderly 3.0%, p=0.006) as well as age and all complication rates (2.3%, 2.6%, 6.0%, p=0.035). Rates of readmission (p=0.318), surgical complications (p=0.607), and individual complications (p>0.05) were not found to be significantly different between age groups. However, on multivariate logistic regression, age, sex, and race were not found to be significant factors on postoperative complication rates. Conclusions: This analysis affirms that outpatient parotidectomy surgery is as safe in elderly and super elderly patients as it is in youthful patients. Therefore, age should not serve as a contraindication in performing parotidectomy on older patients in an ambulatory setting.