Comparison of outcome between obese and non-obese patients after primary lumbar discectomy

Abstract

A singe-center review of prospective database of patients treated by a single surgeon over an 8-year period was performed. From this we identified 92 consecutive patients who underwent primary lumber discectomy. Visual Analogue Scores (VAS) for leg and back pain and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) were recorded preoperatively and postoperatively, as were complications, recurrence of disc and subsequent revision surgery. There was no significant difference in the mean improvements observed in obese or overweight patients compared to patients of normal weight with respect to leg pain (p=0.69), back pain (p= 0.14), and ODI (p=0.3).