Two things to note before surgery for elderly patients with intestinal cancer

With the aging of the Chinese population, the incidence of colorectal cancer in people over 60 years old is increasing year by year. If discovered in time, 70-80% of patients can be surgically removed, and 50% can be radically removed.

Actively treat complications before surgery

Correctly and effectively treating concomitant diseases such as hypertension and diabetes, correctly estimating the functional status of major organs, making adequate preparations before surgery, and rationally choosing the timing and method of surgery will help improve surgical cure rates, reduce complications, and lower surgical mortality rates.

As the organ function, resistance and immunity of the elderly gradually decline, and they are prone to chronic organic lesions of various systems, the most common of which are cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, respiratory diseases and metabolic diseases. This has brought difficulties to the treatment of elderly patients with malignant tumors, especially surgical treatment. In the past, it was believed that elderly patients with colorectal cancer, especially some of them who were not suitable for surgery, were even listed as surgical contraindications. Foreign literature reports that the mortality rate of colorectal cancer surgery in the elderly over 65 years old is 7-29%, of which 70% died of cardiovascular disease. Therefore, it is necessary to actively treat concomitant diseases before surgery. With the continuous improvement of medical technology, the mortality rate has gradually decreased in recent years.

Choosing the right surgical method

For elderly patients with colorectal cancer, radical surgery that preserves the function of the anal sphincter should be performed as much as possible to improve the quality of life after surgery. For patients whose rectal cancer cannot be removed, there is no need for sigmoid colostomy. Instead, sigmoid colon externalization can be performed. When obstruction occurs, the externalized intestinal tube can be cut open at any time to reduce the psychological and life burden of the patient as much as possible.

For patients with distant metastasis, if both the primary lesion and the metastatic lesion can be removed, primary resection should be attempted. If the primary lesion can be removed but the metastatic lesion cannot be removed, the primary lesion can be removed. This can reduce the tumor burden, temporarily improve the patient's condition, and provide an effective environment for other adjuvant treatments.

For elderly patients who really cannot tolerate surgery, chemotherapy, laser therapy, cryotherapy and Chinese herbal medicine treatment can also be considered.