Vaginal hysterectomy in obese women

The influenced of obesity in vaginal hysterectomy was examined by comparing the characteristics and outcome in 108 patients who weighed 200 pounds or more with matched controls weighing less than 200 pounds. Obese and nonobese subjects were similar in age and surgical indications, though overweight patients, who averaged nearly 60% above standard weight for height and age, were more likely to have hypertension and diabetes mellitus. Both operating time and operative blood loss were greater in obese patients, presumably because of more frequent employment of vaginal repair in this group. However, obese and nonobese patients did not differ significantly with respect to mortality (none in either group), postoperative febrile morbidity (62 and 56%, respectively), or postoperative hospitalization in excess of 12 days (19 and 16%, respectively). Thus, obesity does not seem to impose additional risks in vaginal hysterectomy, in contrast to abdominal hysterectomy in which the increased morbidity relates to wound infection.