Does BMI Affect Risk of Complications With Hysterectomy?

Rates of complications and length of hospital stay are decreasing among women undergoing planned benign hysterectomies, according to research presented at AAGL Virtual 2020.

To explore the rates of complications and length of stay in relation to body mass index (BMI) among women undergoing hysterectomy, the researchers conducted a retrospective cohort study of 204,111 women from the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database.

Overall, length of hospital stay decreased over time, and rates of complications did not vary by BMI or by route of hysterectomy except for in women with BMI of more than 40 who were undergoing abdominal hysterectomy, who saw decreases in complication rates from 16.5% to 12.5% over the course of the study period.

“Irrespective of hysterectomy type and BMI, length of stay is decreasing without differences in readmission rates. Overall complications rates do not demonstrate significant change overtime. Further analysis is required to determine if this trend will continue and how outcomes can be improved for obese patients,” they concluded.

—Michael Potts

Reference:

Gnade C, Haugsdal ML, Wu C, et al. Trends in complications among benign hysterectomy patients in relation to BMI. Presented at AAGL Virtual 2020. November 6-14. Virtual. https://aagl.confex.com/aagl/2020/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/5182