Postoperative complications and mortality after major gastrointestinal surgery.

Background And Objective: The incidence of postoperative complications and death is low in the general population, but a subgroup of high-risk patients can be identified amongst whom adverse postoperative outcomes occur more frequently. The present study was undertaken to describe the incidence of postoperative complications, length of stay, and mortality after major abdominal surgery for gastrointestinal, hepatobiliary and pancreatic malignancies and to identify the risk factors for impaired outcome.

Material And Methods: Data of patients, operated on for gastro-intestinal malignancies during 2009-2010 were retrieved from the clinical database of Tartu University Hospital.