The
preoperative period prior to elective total joint
arthroplasty (TJA) is a critical time for lifestyle interventions since a scheduled surgery may help motivate patients to lose weight.
Weight loss may reduce complications associated with
obesity following TJA and enable patients with
severe obesity (body mass index [BMI] > 40 kg/m2) to become eligible for TJA, as many institutions use a 40 kg/m2 cut-off for offering surgery. A comprehensive review was conducted to (1) provide background on complications associated with
obesity following TJA, (2) synthesize prior research on the success rate of patients losing weight after being denied TJA for
severe obesity, (3) discuss
bariatric surgery before TJA, and (4) propose mobile health telemedicine
weight loss interventions as potential
weight loss methods for patients preoperatively. It is well established that
obesity increases complications associated with TJA. In
total knee arthroplasty (TKA),
obesity increases
operative time, length of stay, and hospitalization costs as well as the risk of deep
infection, revision, and component malpositioning.
Obesity may have an even larger impact on complications associated with
total hip arthroplasty (THA), including
wound complications and deep
infection.
Obesity also increases the risk of
hip dislocation, aseptic loosening, and
venous thromboembolism after THA. Synthesis of the only two studies (n = 417), to our knowledge, that followed patients denied TJA for
severe obesity demonstrated that only 7% successfully reduced their BMI below 40 kg/m2 via lifestyle modifications and ultimately underwent TJA. Unfortunately,
bariatric surgery may only increase certain post-TKA complications including death,
pneumonia, and implant failure, and there is limited research on preoperative
weight loss via lifestyle modification. A review of short-term mobile health
weight loss interventions that combined personalized counseling with self-monitoring via a smartphone app found about 5 kg of
weight loss over 3-6 months. Patients with
severe obesity have more weight to lose and may have additional motivation to do so before TJA, so
weight loss results may differ by patient population. Research is needed to determine whether preoperative mobile health interventions can help patients become eligible for TJA and produce clinically significant
weight loss sufficient to improve postoperative outcomes.