J Bone Joint Surg Br
-
J Bone Joint Surg Br · Jun 2007
ReviewDoes obesity influence the outcome after the operative treatment of ankle fractures?
Many orthopaedic surgeons believe that obese patients have a higher rate of peri-operative complications and a worse functional outcome than non-obese patients. There is, however, inconsistency in the literature supporting this notion. This study was performed to evaluate the effect of body mass index (BMI) on injury characteristics, the incidence of complications, and the functional outcome after the operative management of unstable ankle fractures. ⋯ We found that obese patients had a higher number of medical co-morbidities, and more Orthopaedic Trauma Association type B and C fracture types than non-obese patients. At two years from the time of injury, however, the presence of obesity did not affect the incidence of complications, the time to fracture union or the level of function. These findings suggest that obese patients should be treated in line with standard procedures, keeping in mind any known associated medical co-morbidities.