How obesity is linked to the increased risk of complications after surgery

In the United States about 74 per cent of adults aged 20 and older are overweight or obese with nearly 42 per cent obeseOverweight and obesity are not just complicated and dangerous disorders but physicians and researchers are still learning how they affect health outcomes ranging from heart and musculoskeletal health to disease risk including cancerNew research published in the journal SURGERY shows that obesity is also associated with increased risk of complications following surgery including infection blood clots and kidney complicationsWe need to continue to recognize that overweight and obesity can have medical impacts that arent limited to heart disease and diabetes and liver failure says researcher Robert Meguid MD MPH a professor of cardiothoracic surgery in the University of Colorado Department of Surgery They can also make recovery from surgery harder and these data can inform the conversation happening at a broader public health level addressing obesityRisk after surgeryUsing data drawn from the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program Meguid and his coresearchers studied an initial data set representing more than 55 million patients 44637 of whom had obesity They focused on nine surgical specialties including general thoracic and vascular comparing preoperative characteristics and postoperative outcomes within body mass index BMI classesThey found that compared to patients of normal weight patients who had overweight or obesity had higher riskadjusted odds of developing infection kidney failure and venous thromboembolism or blood clots in the veins following surgery Patients in the obesity class III category with a BMI of 40kgm2 or greater also had elevated risk of unplanned hospital readmissionWhen we began the research we did think that increased risk would be the case Meguid explains Though we did think we might see increased risk for other postoperative complications beyond infection kidney failure and thromboembolism in both overweight and each class of obesity but that wasnt what we sawA public health issueIn his surgical practice Meguid has observed that extra intraabdominal fat tissue can lengthen the duration of surgeries and make them more complicated The data he and his colleagues analyzed showed that surgery times on average were six minutes longer for patients with obesityOverweight and obesity also can be a factor in patients immediate recovery from surgery It can be more challenging for patients with overweight or obesity to be up and moving around after surgery Meguid says With lung surgery in particular ambulating after surgery is a critical part of recovery It can improve a patients spirits it decreases risk of pneumonia it can improve comfort and decrease the risk of blood clots forming it can help the bowels wake up Its so important that patients are able to be up and walking after surgery but it can be especially challenging when obesity is a factorBecause overweight and obesity are such complex topics and is extremely personal and sensitive for the people living with them a challenge for clinicians and researchers is initiating conversations in a way that is direct without being blamingAs providers we can generally expect to broach uncomfortable and sensitive topics Meguid says We need to be straightforward in talking about the body and we need to be honest with our patients With overweight and obesity being so prevalent in our society this is not an issue thats going to be solved by one surgeon or one institution Its a public health issue that we need to be addressing at every level local state and nationalAlso Read Are Mumbaikars getting obeseThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever