37 patients aged 80 or over underwent cardiac surgery during an 11-year period. Operative indications included angina, dyspnea and syncope. The majority of patients (n = 32) had a left ventricular ejection fraction greater than 0.5. There were 28 aortic valve procedures, of which seven were combined with coronary artery bypass grafts (CABG), and 2 with mitral valve repair; in addition, 7 isolated CABG procedures and one isolated mitral valve repair were performed. 36-day mortality was 5.4% (2 patients); 9 patients died at a later date (2.5 to 118 months after surgery). The most frequent postoperative complications were atrial fibrillation, pulmonary infection or atelectasis, transient delirium and atrioventricular conduction disturbances. Mean hospital stay was 14.5 days. 1- and 5-year actuarial survival rates were 83% and 57%. In a control group of patients aged 60-69 matched for preoperative characteristics, there were no in-hospital fatalities and 1- and 5-year survival were, respectively, 100% and 82%. Among complications, only conduction disturbances and transient delirium were significantly more frequent in the octogenarian group. At follow-up, the proportion of severely symptomatic octogenarians had diminished to 24% from 84%. In conclusion, cardiac surgery can be performed on octagenarians with adequate myocardial reserve, exposing them to a perioperative mortality that is in the range of younger age groups while offering an equivalent prospect for functional improvement.