Short- and Long-term Outcomes of Ileal Pouch Anal Anastomosis Construction in Obese Patients With Ulcerative Colitis

BACKGROUND: Obese patients are traditionally considered difficult pouch candidates because of the potential for intraoperative technical difficulty and increased postoperative complications. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to compare the outcomes of obese versus nonobese patients with ulcerative colitis undergoing an IPAA. DESIGN: This is a retrospectively, propensity score-matched, prospectively collected cohort study. SETTING: This study was conducted at an IBD quaternary referral center. PATIENTS: Patients with ulcerative colitis undergoing IPAA (1990-2018) were included. Obesity was defined as a BMI >= 30 kg/m(2). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary measures included 30-day complications, long-term anastomotic leak, and pouch failure rate (excision, permanent diversion, revision). RESULTS: Of 3300 patients, 631 (19.1%) were obese (median BMI = 32.4 kg/m(2)). On univariate analysis, obese patients were more likely to be >50 years old (32.5% versus 22.7%, p < 0.001), ASA class 3 (41.7% versus 27.7%, p < 0.001), have diabetes (8.1% versus 3.3%, p < 0.001), and have had surgery in the biologic era (72.4% versus 66.2%, p = 0.003); they were less likely to have received preoperative steroids (31.2% versus 37.4%, p = 0.004). After a median follow-up of 7 years, 66.7% had completed at least 1 quality-of-life survey. Pouch survival in the matched sample was 99.2% (99.8% nonobese versus 95.4% obese, p = 0.002). After matching and controlling for confounding variables, worse clinical outcomes associated with obesity included global quality of life (relative risk, -0.71; p = 0.002) and long-term pouch failure (HR, 4.24; p = 0.007). Obesity was also independently associated with an additional 27 minutes of operating time (p < 0.001). There was no association of obesity with the likelihood of developing a postoperative complication, length of stay, or pouch leak. CONCLUSION: Restorative ileoanal pouch surgery in obese patients with ulcerative colitis is associated with a relatively decreased quality of life and increased risk of long-term pouch failure compared with nonobese patients. Obese patients may benefit from focused counseling about these risks before undergoing restorative pouch surgery.