A patient's BMI may influence postoperative complications following a total joint arthroplasty procedure, according to a study published in the Journal of Arthroplasty.
The researchers identified 13,250 patients who underwent total hip or total knee arthroplasty. The researchers stratified patients into five groups based on BMI and analyzed their postoperative outcomes for up to 30 days after surgery.
Here's what you need to know:
1. When investigating postoperative complications, the researchers controlled for age, gender and surgery type.
2. They found that elevated BMI was associated with surgical complications, including wound infection, elongated recovery time before discharge and operating room readmission.
3. The researchers concluded that although total joint arthroplasty typically has reliable outcomes, obesity may increase a patient's risk of postoperative complications.