Impact of visceral obesity on short-term outcome after laparoscopic surgery for colorectal cancer

Purpose: This prospective study was conducted to clarify the association between the short-term outcome of laparoscopic colorectal surgery and visceral obesity (VO) based on waist circumference (WC). Methods: WC and body mass index (BMI) were preoperatively measured in 98 consecutive patients with colorectal cancer undergoing laparoscopic surgery between June 2004 and February 2006. VO was defined as both BMI Z25 kg/m² and WC Z85 cm in male patients, or WC Z90 cm in female patients. Results: The patients were divided into VO (n=21) and non-VO (n=77). Systemic complications were significantly more frequent in VO than in non-VO (19.0% vs. 3.9%, P=0.036), and VO was the only significant independent risk factor (odds ratio 8.1, P=0.018). BMI itself had no impact on outcome. Conclusions: WC is a potentially useful index for the assessment ofsurgical risk in laparoscopic colorectal surgery.