Perioperative and long-term complications among obese women undergoing vaginal surgery.
OBJECTIVE
To determine whether obesity influenced the risk of perioperative and long-term complications in patients undergoing vaginal surgery.


METHODS
Women diagnosed with pelvic organ prolapse who underwent vaginal surgery between March 1999 and May 2007 were classified into 3 groups: normal weight (body mass index [BMI, calculated as weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in meters] 18.5-23.0); overweight (BMI 23.0-27.5); and obese (BMI >or=27.5). Complications were subdivided into perioperative (<1 month) and long-term (>or=1 month). Statistical analysis was performed using analysis of variance, chi(2) test, and logistic regression.


RESULTS
Demographic information showed no differences among the groups, except for the presence of comorbidity (P=0.03). Blood loss and transfusion as a perioperative complication and urinary retention as a long-term complication were significantly different among the groups: odds ratio (OR) 2.46 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.38-4.39; P<0.01); and OR 2.20 (95% CI, 1.21-4.03; P=0.03), respectively.


CONCLUSIONS
Major complications were rare, and most were not significantly different among the groups. However, obesity was a protective factor against blood loss and transfusion, and long-term urinary retention.
Nam
Ka-Hyun
KH
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Jeon
Myung-Jae
MJ
Hur
Hye-Won
HW
Kim
Sei-Kwang
SK
Bai
Sang-Wook
SW
D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007723:Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000150:complications*; D056887:Pelvic Organ Prolapse / Q000150:complications / Q000601:surgery*; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014621:Vagina / Q000601:surgery