The Impact of Body Mass Index on the Surgical Outcomes in Open Rectal Cancer Surgery

Technical difficulties which affect the outcomes of abdominal operations are common in obese patients, especially in rectal and gastric cancer cases. In several studies, it has been shown that increased body mass index (BMI) is associated with increased morbidity, reduced lymph node retrieval and prolonged hospital stay after colorectal surgery. The aim of this study was to assess the influence of obesity on the surgical outcomes (surgical margin, number of lymph nodes excised) of rectal cancer patients who were operated by open surgery. One hundred rectal cancer patients who underwent open surgery in a single center between January 2011 and August 2014 were included in this study. Patients were divided into two groups according to their BMI values. According to their preoperative BMI values, patients with a BMI of ≥30 kg/m2 (n=29) were defined as ‘obese’. Patients with a BMI of <30 kg/m2 (n=71) were placed in the normal (non-obese) group. Demographic data, surgical margins, the number of lymph nodes retrieved and surveillance of both groups were compared. Obese and normal groups were statistically indifferent in terms of age, sex and stage of the disease. Comparison of the obese and normal groups showed no statistically significant difference in terms of surgical margins and the number of lymph nodes retrieved. This study showed that obesity does not affect the surgical outcomes in rectal cancer. However, prospective studies with larger patient series are needed.