Obesity: physiologic changes and challenges during laparoscopy

The purpose of this report was to describe the evidence for the benefits of laparoscopic surgery in obese patients, to review the physiologic abnormalities that are associated with obesity, and to explore surgical techniques that will enable surgeons to perform laparoscopy successfully in obese patients.

This article is a review of the available literature on obesity, the physiologic changes that occur in obese patients, and the impact of these changes on laparoscopy outcomes.

Obesity is associated with sudden death and a wide range of morbid conditions such as hypertension, atherosclerosis, angina, chronic obstructive disease, and diabetes mellitus. Recent studies have demonstrated that obese patients who undergo laparoscopy have shorter hospital stays, less postoperative pain, and fewer wound infections when compared with obese patients who undergo laparotomy. Laparoscopy patients also have fewer postoperative ileus and fevers.

With thorough preparation and careful preoperative evaluation, laparoscopy can be performed safely and is the preferred surgical method in obese patients.