Impact of body mass index on surgical outcomes and complications in adult spinal deformity.

Abstract Background Several studies have reported that overweightness and obesity are associated with higher complication rates in lumbar spine surgery. However, little is known about the effect of obesity on postoperative complications in adult spinal deformity (ASD) surgery, especially in the elderly. This study aimed to examine the effect of body mass index (BMI) on surgical outcomes and postoperative complications in elderly ASD patients undergoing surgical correction in Japan. Methods We conducted a retrospective, multicenter, observational study of 234 consecutive patients diagnosed with ASD who underwent corrective surgery. Patients were divided into two groups according to BMI, BMI Results Surgical complications occurred in approximately 20% of patients in each group; complications did not significantly differ between the two groups. A greater proportion of patients in the BMI ≥ 25 group experienced mechanical failure and DJK, although the difference was not significant. Preoperative mean lumbar lordosis (LL), pelvic incidence (PI) minus LL, sacral slope (SS) and sagittal vertical axis (SVA) were similar in the BMI  Conclusions In the present study, no difference in medical or surgical complications after ASD surgery was found between overweight/obese patients (BMI ≥ 25) and those with BMI