Evaluation and treatment of spinal injuries in the obese patient

Given the increasing incidence and severity of obesity in the adult population, orthopaedic surgeons are evaluating and treating more acutely injured obese patients. Management of obese patients is complicated given their body habitus and associated medical comorbidities. Although evaluation and treatment are almost the same as for nonobese patients, some special considerations are necessary to prevent errors in diagnosis and treatment of obese trauma patients. This article focuses on spine injuries in obese patients. Predisposition to spinal injury, effective evaluation and early management, principles of treatment planning, operative technical pearls, and postoperative management are discussed.