ABSTRACT
Aortic Surgery in the Very Elderly Jeffrey L. Ballard For the most part, the elderly can be treated surgically for their vascular disease
in much the same fashion as a younger patient. The expected results, particularly in terms of improved longevity and lifestyle, are similar. However, it must be recog nized that morbidity and mortality rates steadily increase with each decade over 65 years of age. Not infrequently, an initial problem cascades into a constellation of complications resulting in death. Proper recognition of this increasing morbidity is nowhere more important than in the treatment of aneurysmal or occlusive aortic disease in the very elderly.
