Abstract: PURPOSE: To analyze the postoperative complications and nursing measures for the oldest old patients with head and neck cancer, who received free flap reconstruction. METHODS: A retrospective study for oldest old patients treated in the department of Oromaxillofacial Head and Neck Oncology of our hospital from 2005 to 2015 was conducted. All patients with head and neck cancer received free flap reconstruction with age≥85 years were selected. Demographics, clinical, nursing information and prognosis were collected. SPSS 17.0 software package was used for data analysis. RESULTS: There were a total of 24 oldest old patients, among whom 15 were male and 9 were female. The median age was 86 years old, 20 patients had co-morbidity, 18 patients had ASA Ⅱ and 6 patients had ASA Ⅲ. The median operation time was 420 minutes, while the median intraoperative blood loss was 550 mL. 16 patients underwent tracheotomy, 9 patients suffered from postoperative surgical complications and 16 patients experienced postoperative medical complications. CONCLUSIONS: The oldest old patients with head and neck cancer have high possibility of postoperative complications. Preoperative assessment, accurate postoperative observation and nursing measures can reduce the negative impact of postoperative complications and improve prognosis effectively.

Key words: Oldest old patients, Head and neck cancer, Postoperative complications, Nursing measures