Background It is often assumed that each surgeon's patient population is similar to that of his
or her peers. Differences in patient characteristics naturally may lead to diverse outcomes …

Objective In the past decade, prevalence of obesity in the United States have been soaring
at a disparaging rate. Previous spine studies have associated obesity with inferior surgical …

Study Design. A retrospective cross-sectional study of all spinal fusions in California from
2003 to 2007. Objective. This study analyzes whether morbid obesity alters rates of …

Study Design. Single-center retrospective study. Objective. The aim of the study was to
compare the surgical experience, clinical outcomes, and effect on body weight between …

Background context Prior studies on the impact of obesity on spine surgery outcomes have
focused mostly on lumbar fusions, do not examine lumbar discectomies or decompressions …

Study Design. Statewide retrospective cohort study using prospectively collected data from
the Spine Care and Outcomes Assessment Program, capturing∼ 75% of the state's spine …

OBJECTIVE Prior studies have shown obesity to be associated with higher complication
rates but equivalent clinical outcomes following lumbar spine surgery. These findings have …

OBJECTIVE Spinal fusion is performed in patients ranging from young and healthy to aged
and frail. Although recent population trends in the United States are toward obesity, no large …

We would like to thank Dr Payne and colleagues for their critical review of our article. Dr
Payne and colleagues provided an excellent Journal Club submission. My coauthors and I …

Study Design. Retrospective case–control study. Objective. The aim of this study was to
determine the influence of obesity on risk factors for adverse outcome after lumbar spine …