Patients
We retrospectively reviewed 103 consecutive patients who were admitted to the emergency ward of Yokosuka General Hospital Uwamachi from January 2009 to December 2019 and underwent surgical repair for ATAAD. The patients were grouped by age; 52 patients aged ≥70 years were assigned to the elderly group (median age, 78 years [74–83]; range, 70–94) and 51 patients aged <70 years were assigned to the control group (median age, 61 years [52.5–65.5]; range, 41–69). Surgical outcomes and physical activities before and after surgery were compared between the groups. In addition, rehabilitation outcomes in the patients regaining ambulatory autonomy at discharge were compared between the groups (30 patients in the elderly group vs 37 patients in the control group). Our selection process and the number of selected patients are shown in Figure 1. The Institutional Review Board approved this retrospective observational study. Approval included a waiver of informed consent.