Background

Elderly are fixed arbitrarily which are over the 65th year of age, without correlation between chronological and biological age.

Elderly represent in the last years the largest part of population in modern society.

In the EU 20% of population are more than 65 years old, with the same percentage in U.S.A.

The number of elderly is increased dramatically because the children that were birth after the 2nd World War, a season that is characterized as “a season of explosion of births” now is approached the 65th year of age. There is increase of average of life at the same time. Also the number of elderly who needs surgical interventions in the last years has been increased too. Approximately half number of them will need surgical intervention.

Age does not constitute contraindication of surgical intervention, when there are guarantees of sufficient care before intervention with safe anaesthesia and knowledge of the anatomic changes in the elder persons with better results.

Materials and methods

The aim of our study is to emphasize the particularities as well as the problems that are presented in third age people when they are nursing in neurosurgical department. In our department at last ten-year period (1997 - 2007) in total of 4500 entrances, 3104 (68,98 %), they concerned on patients of third age, 1374 women (44,27 %) and 1730 men (55,73 %).

Results

The average of age was 74,3 (with breadth 65-105 years old). The 96,5% had: diabetes, hyphenation, atherosclerosis, lipedemia, circulatory - respiratory problems, thyroids, brain tumors, hydrocephalus, cerebrovascular diseases, craniocerebral injuries etc. In our presentation analyzed: the individual diseases that led people to neurosurgical department, the permanence in that and the final result.

Conclusions

1. There is an increase number of neurosurgical interventions in the elderly.

2. Neuerosurgical interventions are more common in men.

3. Individual diseases in elderly are a common situation when they need neurosurgical intervention.