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Show Operations On Elderly Individuals By DR. JAMES W. BARTON (Releaard by Western Newspaper Union.) WITHIN a very short space of time I had three elderly elder-ly patients undergo operation, opera-tion, two for gallstones and one for an en- I I larged pros- TODAY'S tate-gland sit- tirai Tn uatcdatneckof n LAL I LI bladder. All COLUMN three made ' I good recoveries despite the fact that their ages were 72, 74 and 79, respectively. Dr. A. W. S. Hay, Winnipeg, in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, states that """"j the expression "too old for operation" 1 '' , is heard too often; .'V that age is not a1 ;-t5r question of years Lg Vv 7 but of the physical I ? and mental condi- jnlX.ii, t'n of the patient. I t "No one can say of a T too old for opera-. opera-. .. .... WsJ tj0n until one has Dr. Barton studied that patient not only from the standpoint of the disease to be removed re-moved but also from the general standpoint. And without making such a study, one is not justified in condemning the old gentleman to continued misery by refusing surgical surgi-cal aid solely because of the added risk due to his age. A death rate of 10 to 30 per cent is very much less to be dreaded than months or possibly years of misery." Favorable Conditions. Of course, most elderly individuals individu-als should not undergo operation to remedy slight defects or discomforts discom-forts but there are conditions which cause misery and suffering which can be corrected with a great degree de-gree of safety under hospital conditions. condi-tions. What operations may justly be advised ad-vised for elderly people? Dr. Hay names the following groups: 1. Emergencies (to save life from immediate danger). 2. Operations where the patient can make his own choice between trying to withstand pain, such as gallstone colic, by use of quieting drugs, or by operation. 3. To overcome some severe physical phys-ical disability such as a large hernia (rupture). 4. Malignant disease cancer. One fact that has been brought out by investigations into the results of operations on elderly patients is that In "emergency" operation the death rate is not greatly higher than it might have been in younger patients having the same conditions present, e e e |