Obesity as a surgical risk factor

In recent years, both the actual number of overweight/obese individuals and their proportion of the population have steadily been rising worldwide and obesity-related diseases have become major health concerns. In addition, as obesity is associated with an increased incidence of gastroenterological cancer, the number of obese patients has also been increasing in the field of gastroenterological surgery. While the influence of obesity on gastroenterological surgery has been widely studied, very few reports have focused on individual organs or surgical procedures, using a cross-sectional study design. In the present review, we aimed to summarize the impacts of obesity on surgeries for the esophagus, stomach, colorectum, liver and pancreas. In general, obesity prolongs operative time. As to short-term postoperative outcomes, obesity might be a risk for certain complications, depending on the procedure carried out. In contrast, it is possible that obesity doesn't adversely impact long-term surgical outcomes. The influences of obesity on surgery are made even more complex by various categories of operative outcomes, surgical procedures, and differences in obesity among races. Therefore, it is important to appropriately evaluate perioperative risk factors, including obesity.