What postoperative complications is an obese patient at risk of?

Conclusions: Obese patients have a significantly higher risk of postoperative myocardial infarction, wound infection, nerve injury, and urinary infection. Obesity is an independent risk factor for perioperative morbidity, and morbid obesity is a risk factor for mortality.

Why are obese patients at risk for airway obstruction during surgery?

Because of the lack of space in the back of the throat, intubation with an endotracheal tube that helps in breathing and ventilation during surgery may be difficult for obese and morbidly obese individuals.

How does obesity affect airway?

By reducing functional lung volume, obesity can change airway diameter due to the interdependence of the airway and the adjacent pulmonary parenchyma; these effects favor the development of BHR even in non-asthmatic individuals.

Why is the morbidly obese patient at high risk of anesthetic complications?

One of the biggest concerns is that being overweight makes you more likely to have a condition called sleep apnea, which causes you to temporarily stop breathing while you sleep. This can make anesthesia riskier, especially general anesthesia, which causes you to lose consciousness.

What BMI is too high for surgery?

Morbid obesity is defined as a BMI score of 40 or more. You typically qualify for bariatric surgery if you have a BMI of 35-39, with specific significant health problems like Type 2 diabetes, sleep apnea or high blood pressure. A BMI of 40 or higher also is a qualifying factor.

How does obesity affect surgery recovery?

Obese patients who undergo surgery are at greater risk for surgical site infection and slower healing because of reduced blood flow in fat tissue. In addition, many obese patients have diabetes, which also increases the risk of post-surgical infections.

Can losing weight improve lung function?

Patients who completed the 6-month weight loss program experienced improvements in respiratory health status, irrespective of weight loss. Conclusion: We concluded that weight loss can improve lung function in obese women, however, the improvements appear to be independent of changes in airway reactivity.

What weight is too heavy for surgery?

Having a BMI of 30 or greater may prevent a surgeon from scheduling surgery. However, there is no hard and fast rule. If you fall into the “overweight” category, losing extra weight is always recommended, but may not be required by your healthcare provider.

What BMI for surgery?

Generally speaking, you need to have a BMI of 40 or higher to be considered for weight loss surgery like gastric bypass, while a BMI of 30 or greater is needed to qualify for procedures like the Gastric Balloon.

How is obesity a risk factor for postoperative complications?

Obesity alone is a significant risk factor for wound infection, more surgical blood loss and a longer operation time. Being obese is associated with improved long-term survival, validating the obesity paradox. We also found that complication and mortality rates are significantly worse for underweight patients.

What are the risk factors for postoperative respiratory complications?

Multiple factors, including surgical, anesthetic and patient variables, contribute to the etiology of postoperative respiratory complications (2–4). Surgical risk factors include emergency surgery, long duration of surgery and type of surgery (2,4).

Why is the morbidly obese patient at high risk of?

[Why is the morbidly obese patient at high risk of anesthetic complications?] Obesity is often associated with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), which increases the risk of intraoperative and postoperative complications.

Are there more obese patients in the operating room?

With a rising incidence of obesity in the United States, anesthesiologists are faced with a larger volume of obese patients coming to the operating room as well as obese patients with ever-larger body mass indices (BMIs).