Influence of body mass index on postoperative complications after rectal resection for carcinoma.

Objectives: The influence of obesity on postoperative complications after various surgical interventions remains controversial. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of overweight and obesity on the occurrence of postoperative complications for patients undergoing elective resection for rectal carcinoma.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective data analysis of 676 patients undergoing surgical treatment for rectal carcinoma. Depending on their body mass index (BMI), patients were grouped as follows: group I, patients up to BMI 24.9 kg/m; group II patients, with a BMI between 25 and 29.9 kg/m; and group III, all patients with a BMI >30 kg/m. Complications were classified as minor and major with regard to severity grades (1-5). Statistical analysis was performed to evaluate the difference in complication rates between the different BMI groups.

Results: A total of 444 patients were included for analysis. Overall, 300 (67.6%) of the 444 patients did not develop postoperative complications, 82 (18.4%) patients had minor complications (grade 1 + 2), and 56 patients (12.6%) had major (grade 3 + 4) complications. Six (1.4%) patients died (grade 5). The Fisher exact test indicated no statistically significant difference of complication rates between the different BMI groups (P = 0.3716).

Conclusions: Compared with nonobese or normal-weight patients, obese patients do not have a statistically significant higher risk of developing postoperative complications after rectal resection for carcinoma.