Influence of obesity on the short-term outcome of laparoscopic colectomy for colorectal cancer

Purpose: Obesity has been generally associated with increased surgical risk. However, data on the outcome of laparoscopic colectomy in obese and non-obese patients are controversial. The aim of this study is to assess the short-term outcome of laparoscopic colectomy for colorectal cancer (CRC) in obese patients as compared with non-obese patients.
Materials and Methods: Sixty-nine patients who underwent laparoscopic anterior resection for CRC during the past six years were retrospectively evaluated. The patients with CRC involving the sigmoid or rectosigmoid colon and subjected to intracorporeal anastomosis were included in this study. They were divided into three groups according to body mass index (BMI): obese (BMI ≥ 28.0 kg/m² ), pre-obese (BMI: 25.0-27.9 kg/m² ) and non-obese (BMI < 25.0 kg/m² ).
Results: Nine patients (13.0 %) were obese, 11 patients (15.9%) were pre-obese and 49 patients (71.1%) were non-obese. Patient characteristics, such as age, gender, tumor location, previous laparotomy, were similar among the three groups. There were no significant differences in operative time, blood loss, intraoperative complications and conversion rates. Postoperative complications and duration of postoperative hospital stay were also similar among the three groups. However, two of the three patients in the pre-obese group had to be operated on again due to incarceration of the small bowel into a port site.
Conclusions: Laparoscopic colectomy can be safely performed in obese patients with short-term results similar to those obtained in non-obese and pre-obese patients.