Does obesity complicate perioperative course in patients undergoing abdominal hysterectomy?

Abstract

Obesity is traditionally believed to increase the incidence of perioperative complications in abdominal surgery. Recently this paradigm has been challenged mainly by observations from surgical specialties other than gynecology. Our aim was to assess the impact of obesity on perioperative course in women undergoing total abdominal hysterectomy. We analyzed medical charts of 126 patients who underwent total abdominal hysterectomy for benign gynecological conditions through a low transverse incision in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of the Provincial Specialist Hospital in Czestochowa, Poland. Perioperative course was compared between obese [n = 55; body mass index (BMI) ≥ 30 kg/m(2): mean 32.6 ± 3.2 kg/m(2)] and non-obese patients (n = 71; mean BMI 24.3 ± 3 kg/m(2)). The mean operative time in obese women was significantly prolonged (112 ± 32 vs. 100 ± 31 min, P = 0.036). However, complication rates and other perioperative outcomes were comparable between the groups. In our study, mild obesity does not significantly affect the perioperative course in women undergoing total abdominal hysterectomy.