Impact of Obesity on Outcomes of Hysterectomy

Study Objectives: To evaluate the impact of obesity on complications of hysterectomy. Study Design: Retrospective cohort study (Canadian Task Force II-2). Setting: The Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Women and Infants Hospital of Rhode Island, Providence, RI. Patients: Patients who had a hysterectomy at WIH between July 2006 and January 2009. Interventions: Hysterectomy by any mode. Measurements and Main Results: We collected data from medical records of all laparoscopic hysterectomies during the time period and collected data from a random subset of abdominal and vaginal hysterectomies. The independent variable, body mass index, was grouped according to World Health Organization guidelines. A composite of surgical complications was generated. Multivariable logistic regression was used to estimate adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). We collected data from 907 hysterectomies, and 29.9% (n = 267) of the population was obese. Eighteen percent of patients (n = 154) had at least 1 complication. Compared to non-obese women, obese women were at increased odds of having any complication (OR 1.62, 95% CI 1.12-2-34). Performing subgroup analyses by mode of hysterectomy and controlling for confounding factors, we were unable to detect differences odds of complications between obese and non-obese women who underwent either an abdominal, vaginal, or laparoscopic hysterectomy. Conclusion: In our study, we found that among women who had a hysterectomy, obese women had a higher rate of complications than nonobese women. (c) 2014 AAGL. All rights reserved.