title: The impact of obesity on learning laparoscopic surgery for colon cancer.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study evaluated the impact of obesity on learning to perform laparoscopic surgery for colon cancer.
  
  
  METHODS
  We compared the outcomes for 72 patients with colon cancer treated by a single surgeon between June 2005 and July 2008. The first 36 patients who underwent surgery were considered to be during the "early period," and the other 36 patients who underwent surgery as the "late period," and the patients with a body mass index (BMI) ≥25 kg/m(2) were defined as being obese.
  
  
  RESULTS
  During the early period, the tumor stages of obese patients were less advanced than those of nonobese patients, whereas the length of the operation, surgical blood loss, and wound diameter of obese patients were worse than those of nonobese patients. Furthermore, the tumor stages in the obese patients during the late period were more advanced than those in obese patients during the early period, whereas the length of the operation and number of dissected lymph nodes in the obese patients during the late period were better than those in obese patients during the early period.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We demonstrated that the differences of the surgical outcomes between obese and nonobese patients undergoing laparoscopic colon resection decreased as the surgeon's experience increased.
authors: Second Department of Surgery, Wakayama Medical University School of Medicine, Wakayama, Japan.
authors: Tsukasa
authors: T
authors: Hotta
authors: Katsunari
authors: K
authors: Takifuji
authors: Shozo
authors: S
authors: Yokoyama
authors: Kenji
authors: K
authors: Matsuda
authors: Yoshimasa
authors: Y
authors: Oku
authors: Toru
authors: T
authors: Nasu
authors: Koichi
authors: K
authors: Tamura
authors: Junji
authors: J
authors: Ieda
authors: Naoyuki
authors: N
authors: Yamamoto
authors: Hiroki
authors: H
authors: Yamaue
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003110:Colonic Neoplasms / Q000150:complications / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D010535:Laparoscopy / Q000193:education*; D059032:Learning Curve; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000150:complications