The impact of obesity on perioperative outcomes of pancreaticoduodenectomy

Background/Aims: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of obesity on pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) outcomes. Methodology: Subjects were 97 patients undergoing PD at our institution between April 2005 and April 2011. All patients had data including body mass index (BMI). Patients were divided into two groups based on BMI; normal group (BMI <25kg/m²) and overweight group (BMI ≥25kg/m²). Perioperative outcomes were collected prospectively. Results: There were no significant differences between the two groups in terms of intraoperative data, surgical time, blood loss and blood transfusion rates. The overall complication rate was 50.0% (53.6% in the overweight group and 47.1% in the normal group; p=0.55). The most common complication overall was pancreatic fistula (34.7%). There was also a significant difference in the rate of intra-abdominal fluid collection (four patients in the overweight group (14.3%) vs. two patients in the normal group (2.9%), respectively; p<0.05). There was no significant difference in the mortality rate between the normal group and the overweight group (3.6% vs. 0%, p=0.11). Conclusions: Management of overweight patients in the perioperative period should therefore address any modifiable risk factors for operative complications.