[Degenerative espondylolisthesis. Body mass index influence on the post-surgical evolution]

Spondylolisthesis is the sliding of a vertebral body with respect to the adjacent one. According to the degree of slippage it is classified into 4 Meyerding grades. Patients with spondylolisthesis who underwent surgery with lumbar instrumentation were included. They were divided into two groups based on their body mass index: obese and non-obese. The functional capacity Oswestry score was calculated preoperatively and at one year, and it was correlated with the BMI. A total of 46 patients, 26 females and 20 males, were included, from 2010 to 2013, all of them with a diagnosis of degenerative spondylolisthesis with lumbar stenosis. Mean age was 58.9 years. The mean preoperative Oswestry disability index was 41% in non-obese patients and 47% in obese patients. At the one-year postoperative assessment the disability index was 12.30% in non-obese patients and 23.84% in obese patients. Non-obese patients had a more favorable clinical course compared to the group of obese patients.