Introduction/Background To assess the short-term morbidity and mortality following gynecological surgery in patients older than 70 years of age.

Methodology This retrospective study focused on patients aged 70 and above who underwent inpatient surgery for either benign or malignant indications at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hacettepe University, between 2015 and 2023. Demographics, clinical characteristics, postoperative morbidity and mortality rates within the one-month period following surgery were assessed. The Clavien-Dindo classification was employed to systematically classify surgical complications.

Results The median age of the 346 patients included in the study was 73 (min: 70, max: 93). 183 patients had surgery for benign disease, and 155 patients for malignancy. 90.2% of the patients had at least one accompanying medical condition, the most common being hypertension (76%). Pelvic organ prolapse (POP) (%74.1) was the most common indication for benign gynecological surgery, while endometrial cancer (%51) was the most common malignant disease.

No intraoperative death was observed in study groups. The average duration of surgery in malignant cases was 169 minutes (SD±69.7), while it was 88 minutes (SD±37.4) in benign group. Post-operative admission rate to intensive care unit (ICU) was 7.7% in vs 31.6% in malignant group (p < 0.001). ≥ Grade 2 morbidity was observed in 8 patients (4.3%) in benign group and in 34 patients (21.9%) operated on for malignant reasons (p < 0.001). One patient in benign group and two patients in malignant group died at first month after surgery (p=0.595).

Conclusion We observed a significantly higher demand for postoperative ICU admission and increased morbidity during the first postoperative month in patients undergoing oncological surgery compared to those having surgery for benign indications. However, we found no significant difference in mortality rates during the one-month period.

Disclosures All authors have declared that they have no conflicts of interest.