Chuck Darwin<p><a href="https://c.im/tags/Wegovy" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Wegovy</span></a>®, <a href="https://c.im/tags/Zepbound" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Zepbound</span></a>®, and similar medications continue to gain attention for effectively treating <a href="https://c.im/tags/obesity" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>obesity</span></a>, and now there is discussion—with research underway—about their potential for improving certain <a href="https://c.im/tags/surgical" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>surgical</span></a> outcomes.</p><p>The brand-name medications mentioned above belong to a class called GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) agonists. <a href="https://c.im/tags/GLP" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>GLP</span></a>-1s mimic the actions of the GLP-1 hormone, which is secreted in the gut and sends an “I’m full” signal to the brain after you eat.</p><p>GLP-1 medications aren’t new. @Ozempic® (generic name: <a href="https://c.im/tags/semaglutide" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>semaglutide</span></a>) received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat type 2 diabetes in 2017. </p><p>After its weight-loss effects were studied, semaglutide (at a higher dose and sold under the name Wegovy) was approved by the FDA as an anti-obesity medication in 2021, and others have since followed.</p><p>Most recently, the FDA approved Wegovy for patients with <a href="https://c.im/tags/cardiovascular" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>cardiovascular</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/disease" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>disease</span></a> and obesity or overweight after a study showed that those taking the medication had a lower overall risk of major cardiac events, such as heart attack, stroke, or cardiovascular-related death.</p><p>Now, some Yale Medicine surgeons believe, based on their ongoing research, that taking anti-obesity medications before and sometimes after total <a href="https://c.im/tags/joint" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>joint</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/replacement" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>replacement</span></a> and <a href="https://c.im/tags/bariatric" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>bariatric</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/surgery" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>surgery</span></a> can be beneficial.</p><p>“These medications have been transformative, in terms of expanding the pool of people who can safely undergo joint replacement surgery,” says Daniel Wiznia, MD, a Yale Medicine orthopaedic surgeon and co-director of the Avascular Necrosis Program. </p><p>“These anti-obesity medications are game-changers; they are changing the way people practice medicine.”</p><p>Often, patients who need a total hip or knee replacement must delay surgery until they lose enough weight to meet specific body mass index ( <a href="https://c.im/tags/BMI" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>BMI</span></a> ) standards. <br>This is important in protecting the patient’s health. </p><p>“Weight increases a patient’s risk of postoperative complications, including wound-healing problems, stroke, heart attack, blood clots, and infection,” he says.</p><p>However, having patients take a GLP-1 medication before surgery, as well as improving their diet, has allowed more patients to reach a safe preoperative BMI, Dr. Wiznia says.</p><p><a href="https://www.yalemedicine.org/news/anti-obesity-medications-before-surgery" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">yalemedicine.org/news/anti-obe</span><span class="invisible">sity-medications-before-surgery</span></a></p>