UQRCS leading researcher and orthopedic surgeon Dr. According to Chris Wall, the most common reasons for revision surgery are infection, implant loosening, instability and pain.
“We found that obese patients had a higher rate of revision surgery overall and a higher revision rate for infection than non-obese patients,” Dr Wall said. “Morbid obese patients also had a higher rate of revision for implant loosening.”
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Obesity and Knee Replacement Surgery
Obesity, a known risk factor for developing knee osteoarthritis and requiring knee replacement surgery, affects 31% of Australian adults.
UQRCS head of research Associate Professor Srinivas Kondalsamy-Chennakesavan noted that previous research by the research team found that 58% of knee replacement patients in Australia were obese.
“Our previous work showed that the risk of knee replacement for osteoarthritis is clearly related to a person’s body mass index,” said Dr Kondalsamy-Chennakesavan. “This study found that obese patients undergoing knee replacement surgery had a higher risk of revision surgery than non-obese patients.”
The results were exciting, according to Dr. Wall, because they indicated an increase in demand for revision knee replacement surgery.
“It carries significant psychosocial costs for patients and huge economic costs for the health care system,” Dr. Wall said. “A population-level approach to address the increasing prevalence of obesity is urgently needed to reduce the burden of obesity-related knee osteoarthritis, primary knee replacement, and revision knee replacement.”
Source: Medium
