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Obesity as a risk factor for complications after knee surgery

Abstract:

nee surgery (KS) comprises one of the most common groups of surgical procedures in orthopedics, which is performed chiefly in patients with osteoarthritis (OA). It is a degenerative, painful and debilitating articular disorder associated with obesity. It has been demonstrated that a large part of the obese population presents OA or articular pains, and thus it is considered not only a promoter for the development of OA, but also a factor influencing the requirement of KS in obese patients. Likewise, obesity is a risk factor for the development of complications post-KS such as superficial and deep infections, alterations of wound healing, deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary thromboembolism, and others. In addition, obesity is also related to the necessity for revision and re-operation surgeries, which is linked with lower 10-year survival rates. Therefore, it is imperative that specialists perform a correct perioperative approach to obese patients with OA that require KS, promoting changes in lifestyle that allow for weight loss, in order to reduce the risk of complications post-KS. The objective of this review is to summarize the relationship of obesity with OA and KS, as well as to describe the clinical evidence that establishes obesity as a risk factor for the development of complications post-KS.