Obesity as a risk factor for complications during laparoscopic surgery for renal cancer: multivariate analysis

A number of clinical variables are believed to be risk factors for complications of laparoscopic renal surgery. We reviewed our experience with laparoscopic surgery specifically for renal cancers to better clarify which clinical variables were significant risk factors.

Our laparoscopic experience with 210 cases of renal cancer from April 1999 through August 2004 was reviewed. Preoperative clinical characteristics were recorded. Complete information was available for 134 patients: 54 radical nephrectomies, 41 nephroureterectomies, 19 radiofrequency ablations, and 20 partial nephrectomies. Outcomes monitored included blood loss, length of hospital stay, conversion, blood transfusion, and intraoperative, minor postoperative, and major postoperative complications. Multivariate analysis was performed to determine whether any variable was a significant risk factor for adverse outcomes during or after laparoscopic surgery.

The numbers of patients requiring operative conversion or blood transfusions were 6 (4.5%) and 20 (14.9%), respectively. Intraoperative, minor postoperative, and major postoperative complication occurred in 9 (6.7%), 22 (16.4%), and 11 (8.2%) patients, respectively. The year surgery was performed was inversely proportional to the incidence of minor postoperative complications, implying a protective association with the experience of the surgeon. On multivariate analysis, only body mass index (BMI) was found to be a significant risk factor for major postoperative complications with an odds ratio of 1.14 (P = 0.03).

Laparoscopic surgery is safe, but with every unit increase in the BMI, the risk of a major complication increases by 14%.