(A834) Impact of Body Mass Index on Surgical Efficiency of Tympanoplasty and Tympanomastoidectomy Procedures

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of body mass index (BMI) on operative and non-operative OR time for patients undergoing either tympanoplasty or tympanomastoidectomy.

Methods: All patients who underwent mastoidectomy or tympanomastoidectomy at the University of Kentucky from January 2008 through September 2023 were included in this retrospective chart review. Patients were stratified into subgroups by the patient’s BMI. Subgroups were defined as underweight (BMI < 18.5), normal weight (BMI 18.5-24.9), overweight (BMI 25-29.9), obese (BMI 30-39.9), and morbidly obese (BMI >40). Non-operative times were defined as total OR time minus operating time.

Results: Operative times were not significantly different between BMI groups undergoing either tympanoplasty or tympanomastoidectomy. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed no statistically significant difference in operative times based on BMI for tympanoplasty (p=0.118) or tympanomastoidectomy (p=0.064). However, statistically significant differences in non-operative time for patients undergoing both procedures were found based on increasing BMI category (underweight, normal weight, overweight, obese, and morbidly obese). Non-operative times for tympanoplasty were 41, 39, 42, 45, and 49 minutes for the respective increasing BMI categories (p=0.006), while non-operative times for tympanomastoidectomy were 38, 41, 41, 45, and 51 minutes for the same BMI categories (p < 0.001).

Conclusions: Patients with a higher BMI are associated with a significantly increased non-operative time associated with the surgical case; this may be a result of additional time needed from anesthesia providers or from patient positioning due to body habitus. There is no difference in intraoperative time between BMI groups undergoing either tympanoplasty or tympanomastoidectomy, consistent with prior literature.