Is obesity a predictor of mortality, morbidity and readmission after cardiac surgery?

It is commonly thought that obesity has a negative impact on surgical outcomes, but there is little supporting evidence. Obesity has been described as a risk factor for coronary artery disease, but several studies have demonstrated that obesity may not be a risk factor for significant adverse outcomes after cardiac surgery.1,2,3 We analyzed the findings in a large cohort of patients after cardiac surgery to determine whether obesity is a risk factor for mortality, morbidity, length of stay in hospital, or readmission.