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" Obese patients who need a general anaesthetic are twice as likely to develop serious airway problems as non-obese patients, a major new study has found. The air passages to the lungs must be kept open to keep the patient alive, but research shows that a worrying proportion of obese patients experience problems. Experts at the Royal College of Anaesthetists (RCoA) and the Difficult Airway Society analysed all major airway complications that occurred during a general anaesthetic throughout the UK in 2008-09. The incidents investigated were serious enough to lead to death, brain damage, admission to intensive care, or the insertion of a breathing tube in the front of the neck. Presenting their findings at a meeting of the RCoA this week, the researchers revealed that obese patients had a twofold increased risk of serious airway problems. Meanwhile, those with severe obesity - a body mass index (BMI) in excess of 40 - were four times more likely to develop these problems. Study author Dr Nick Woodall, consultant anaesthetist at the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital, said: &amp;#039;The report is important for patients and anaesthetists alike. &amp;#039;The information will enable obese patients to be better informed about the risks of anaesthesia and to give informed consent. We hope our findings will encourage anaesthetists to recognise these risks and choose anaesthetic techniques with a lower risk.&amp;#039; According to NHS figures, 22 per cent of male adults and 24 per cent of females in England were obese in 2009. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/healthy-living/news/a20817/anaesthesia-complications-more-common-in-obese-patients/>