Objective: To analyze the impact of body mass indices on postbariatric reconstructive surgery complications.
Background: An increasing number of patients are presenting after massive weight loss due to bariatric surgery or diet and exercise. Many of these patients have residual obesity, which may compromise outcomes.
Methods: 449 patients were enrolled in a prospective registry over 6 years. Measures included medical complications and comorbidities. All cases were analyzed together as well as in two subgroups: single procedure cases (Group I) and multiple procedure cases (Group II).
Results: 449 patients (407 female, 42 male) with a mean age of 44.5 +/- 10.3 underwent 511 separate operations. Mean pre-weight loss BMI (Max BMI) was 51.6 +/- 9.5 kg/m2, post-weigh loss BMI (Current BMI) was 29.3 +/- 5.0 and the DeltaBMI was 22.3 +/- 7.5. For all cases (n = 511), the presence of a surgical complication was directly related to Max BMI (P = 0.002) and DeltaBMI (P = 0.002) but not Current BMI.Group I consisted of 194 single procedure cases. Complications in Group I were related to Max BMI (P = 0.006) and Current BMI (P = 0.02) but not DeltaBMI. Max BMI impacted infections (P = 0.003) while Current BMI impacted dehiscence (P = 0.009) and infections (P = 0.03). Group II consisted of 317 cases with only DeltaBMI directly related to overall complications (P = 0.01).
Conclusions: Body mass indices influence complications in postbariatric reconstructive surgery. Current BMI may impact complications in single-procedure cases, but appears to play less of a role in larger cases. Careful patient selection, assessment of surgical complexity, and recognition of the particular risks increased by residual obesity can help to optimize outcomes in this patient population.