ObjectiveTo analyze the risk factors affecting the postoperative ileus after total gastrectomy in elderly patients with gastric cancer. MethodsThe elderly patients with gastric cancer after total gastrectomy admitted to the Second Department of General Surgery of Shaanxi Provincial People’s Hospital from January 2015 to December 2020 were retrospectively collected and the postoperative ileus was analyzed. Meanwhile the risk factors affecting the postoperative ileus after total gastrectomy in the elderly patients with gastric cancer were analyzed using univariate and multivariate logtistic regression analyses. ResultsA total of 306 elderly patients with gastric cancer who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria of this study were collected, 33 (10.8%) of whom suffered the postoperative ileus after surgery. The results of multivariate logtistic regression analysis showed that the preoperative anemia [OR (95%CI)=2.740 (1.181, 6.356), P=0.019], preoperative complicated intestinal obstruction [OR (95%CI)=3.286 (1.208, 8.935), P=0.020], open operation [OR (95%CI)=3.753 (1.298, 10.848), P=0.015], and operative time ≥400 min [OR (95%CI)=3.902 (1.705, 8.925), P=0.001] increased the risk probability of postoperative ileus after total gastrectomy in the elderly patients with gastric cancer. ConclusionsAccording to the analysis results of this study, the preoperative anemia and complicated intestinal obstruction, as well as the adopted open surgery and operation time ≥400 min are the risk factors of postoperative ileus in elderly patients with gastric cancer after total gastrectomy. When total gastrectomy is chosen for elderly patients with gastric cancer, preoperative physical status needs to be adjusted, such as correcting anemia and removing preoperative intestinal obstruction. During operation, the operation modus should be prior to the minimally invasive surgery according to the individual conditions of elderly patients and the operation skills of surgeons should be improved so as to reduce postoperative ileus.