While it depends on the practice, many orthopedic surgeons will not operate on patients who have a body mass index higher than 40.
Patients with BMIs over 40 have historically faced challenges when seeking elective arthroplasty surgeries, with physicians recommending against the procedures, citing high risks.
Obesity medicine could alter the field of orthopedics in 2025, as GLP-1s like Ozempic and Wegovy can help patients lose weight, making them candidates for procedures they previously could not receive, according to a Jan. 7 Medscape report.
In the last decade, obesity rates among U.S. adults have increased from 7.7% to 9.7%. The number of joint replacements is also rising, with more than 700,000 total knee arthroplasty (and more than 450,000 total hip arthroplasty cases a year. As the population ages, those numbers are expected to increase.
While Ozempic can help patients lose 15% of their body weight, making a wave of new individuals eligible for joint replacements, some barriers remain when it comes to affording the medication.
Currently, only about one-third of patients are routinely covered with insurance when it comes to GLP-1s. However, coverage has expanded in recent months, and could continue to expand in 2025.