2 orthopedic surgeons call for more study of Ozempic

Orthopedic

As millions of Americans have turned to GLP-1 medications to lose weight, studies and specialists alike have expressed differing opinions on their safety, efficacy and likeliness to have any impact on the musculoskeletal industry. 

Two surgeons told Becker's that, while weight loss medications show some promise for improving orthopedic procedures, we don't yet know enough about the long-term impact of these drugs. 

Hristo Piponov, MD. Adult Reconstruction Orthopaedic Surgeon at Endeavor Health Orthopaedic & Spine Institute (Chicago, Skokie, Ill.): Weight management agents have given a lot of our patients hope and motivation in their weight-loss journey. I see more and more patients being successful in achieving target weight when taking them. Reducing weight not only helps them prepare for a joint replacement but also helps them feel more energized, more encouraged to live healthier, and oftentimes, their joint pain is reduced. Like anything else in life, it's a matter of benefit and risk, and I think that more long-term studies are needed to prove these agents safe and reliable in the future.

Anand Srinivasan, MD. Director of Anterior Hip Replacement Program at Endeavor Health Orthopaedic & Spine Institute (Gurnee, Glenview and Lincolnshire, Ill.): Weight loss medications, such as Ozempic, can help improve both a patient's body mass index, as well as their glycemic control. Since high BMI and high blood sugar levels correlate with complication rates in total joint replacement, these medications may help reduce the risk profile of patients.  As such, they may increase access to a number of patients that have traditionally been told that they are at a prohibitively high risk for total joint replacement surgery. That said, the timing of when to start and stop such medications with regards to surgery, and the safety of discontinuing such medications indefinitely, is not well understood. As a result, the risks associated with taking these medicines either for a short or long time frame, and the associated possible complications, need to be studied further.

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