Relationship of obesity to postoperative complications after cholecystectomy

A study of 400 patients undergoing cholecystectomy between 1965 and 1969 was undertaken to determine the incidence of complications in obese and nonobese patients. The average complication rate is 42 per cent for female patients weighing less than 175 and 31 per cent for those over 175 pounds. Male patients weighing under 200 have a complication rate of 36 per cent compared to 28 per cent for those more than 200 pounds. There were no patients over 200 pounds who had postoperative cardiac arrhythmias, thrombophlebitis, pulmonary embolus, myocardial infarction, or stress ulcers, whereas several patients in each of the lower weight groups had two or more of these problems. Although obese patients present difficult technical problems, these results demonstrate that obesity per se is not associated with a higher postoperative morbidity or mortality in patients undergoing cholecystectomy.