It is important to note that improvement was seen for most obese and non-obese participants, says Dr. Michael Parks, an orthopedic surgeon with the Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) in New York City who wasn’t involved in the study.
“So, the point is, joint surgery is still helpful whether patients are obese or not, but it shows that we need to do something for them more than just replace their joint,” Parks says in an interview.
“One of the things that we do here at HSS, and that I hope is becoming more prevalent nationally, is we work collaboratively with our medical colleagues to try to address obesity,” he says.
It’s also important for patients to become involved in their own healthcare, Parks adds.
“Whether you go to your primary care doctor, whether you go to a nutritionist, whether you go next door to a center for weight loss that’s medical or whether you go to our center for weight loss that’s surgical, the point is, become involved in your health and do something to lose weight to make yourself a better candidate because that has implications on your surgical outcome, your risk, and this study shows that it has a long-term outcome on your dependence and your ability to be independent and your mobility,” he says.
Reference
- Gaulton TG, Fleisher LA, Neuman MD. The association between obesity and disability in survivors of joint surgery: Analysis of the health and retirement study. Br J Anaesth. 2017 Dec 13.
