Postoperative Complications in Obese Patients After Tracheostomy

Objective To determine the prevalence of varying classes of obesity in patients undergoing tracheostomy and the associated complication rates as compared with nonobese patients. Study Design A retrospective chart review was performed from 2012 to 2018 on all patients who underwent open tracheostomy by the Department of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery. Setting All tracheostomies were performed at a single tertiary care center. Methods Patients were classified by body mass index (BMI) according to the World Health Organization classification system: underweight (<18.5), normal‐overweight (18.5‐29.9), class I (30‐34.9), class II (35‐39.9), and class III (>40). Charts were reviewed for patient demographic information, Charlson Comorbidity Index score, surgical indication, operative time, tracheostomy tube type, and postoperative complications. Results A total of 387 patients (mean ± SD BMI, 31.3 ± 14.2) were identified per the inclusion/exclusion criteria. Of patients with BMI >30 (n=153), 34.6% were categorized as obesity class I, 29.4% as class II, and 35.9% as class III. The most common indication for tracheostomy was malignancy in nonobese patients (41.5%) and respiratory failure for obese patients (58.2%). Operative time was significantly longer in obese patients, and most of these patients required an extended‐length tracheostomy tube. Patients with a BMI >40 had higher rates of multiple postoperative complications or death ( P =. 009). Underweight patients also had a higher rate of complication than normal‐overweight patients ( P =. 016). Conclusion Class III and underweight patients had higher rates of postoperative complications, which should be taken into consideration during perioperative counseling.