[Early mortality in geriatric-gynecologic surgery].

The death rate of 6662 major gynaecological operations on women of 60 years or more in 17 West-Berlin Gynaecological Departments (1960--1969) was 7,7% (512 cases). Of these, 89 women (16,8%) died either during operation or within 3 days after the operation. In all cases there was an adequate indications for surgical intervention. With few exceptions the procedures of the operations could not be criticized. Only a very small part of the intra- and postoperative mortality could be attributed to the anesthesia. In some cases medication was insulfficient (e.g. lack of preoperative treatment with digitalis or postoperative replacement with substitutes or blood). This may partly be explained by the fact that during the period under investigation in many cases the anesthesia had to be done by the gynaecologists. Publications on early postoperative mortailty supply better information on the quality of medical care given to the gynaecological patients, than surveys of so called "Anaesthetic dealths".