Obesity and total joint arthroplasty: do patients lose weight following surgery?

The number of total joint arthroplasties (TJAs) in the United States has steadily increased during the past 2 decades. The prevalence of obesity has also increased during the same time period and has become a major public health issue. The relationship between TJA and weight change is therefore increasingly important from the perspective of both surgical outcomes and patient expectations. Following an extensive literature search, we identified several studies that met our specific criteria for weight change following TJA in obese patients. Our article summarizes the reported data found on weight change following TJA. Despite the commonly perceived expectation of patient weight loss postoperatively, most patients either maintain or gain weight following TJA.