Study: No significant clinical differences seen between obese, nonobese patients after TKA

CHICAGO — There were no significant differences in the risk of complications between obese patients and nonobese patients 2 years after total knee arthroplasty, according to Singapore researchers who presented the prospective study.

“Total knee arthroplasty is a safe and efficacious operation in obese patients with no significantly greater risk of complications,” Bernard Lau, MBBS, of Singapore, said during his presentation at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Annual Meeting, here.

Lau and colleagues analyzed 301 patients from a tertiary university center between December 2008 and April 2010. There were 77 obese patients and 224 nonobese patients, with no significant differences in age, gender, operated knee, preoperative alignment or incidence of stroke, ischemic heart disease or diabetes between the two groups, according to the abstract.

Bernard Lau

Nonobese patients had significantly higher preoperative maximum flexion and WOMAC scores. The higher maximum flexion carried over postoperatively, but both groups had similar WOMAC scores. Researchers noted no statistically significant differences between absolute improvements in range of motion, SF-36, KSS Knee or WOMAC scores in either group. Additionally, they said blood loss, operative time, risk of deep vein thrombosis and patellar management were not statistically significantly different.

Although there were no statistically significantly differences between the groups clinically, the investigators noted that obesity was an independent risk factor for improvements in the mental component of the SF-36 score, according to the abstract.

Reference:

Lim CT. Paper #435. Presented at: American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Annual Meeting; March 19-23, 2013; Chicago.

Disclosure: Lau has no relevant financial disclosures.