Resultados precoces de la cirugía electiva del cáncer de colon en mayores de 75 a？os

background: colon cancer is more common in older people, who can behave differently than their younger counterparts after colorectal surgery. aim: to report the early results of surgery for colorectal cancer among patients aged 75 years or more. material and methods: prospective analysis of 161 patients whose age ranged from 75 to 92 years (61% females), operated for a colorectal cancer between 1991 and 2010. results: sixty six percent of patients had tumors located in the right colon. karnofsky index was below 70% in 75 of participants. sixty seven patients (38%) had one or more postoperative complication. the rate of anastomosis dehiscence was 2%. mean hospital stay was 10 days. one patient died. conclusions: colorectal surgery can be safely performed in subjects older than 75 years, provided that an adequate preoperative assessment is performed and patients are carefully selected.