Research

Hormonal

GLP-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) are effective for preoperative weight loss in orthopaedic surgery patients with obesity and type-2 diabetes, reducing surgical risk without increasing postoperative complications.

If you are having orthopaedic surgery and take GLP-1s (like Ozempic or Wegovy), tell your surgeon and anesthesiologist. You likely need to stop taking them a week before (for weekly doses) or on the day of (for daily doses) to prevent stomach issues during anesthesia. This helps ensure your surgery goes smoothly and reduces infection risk.

GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists are a promising tool for preoperative weight loss in the patient who is undergoing orthopaedic surgery and has concomitant obesity and type-2 diabetes mellitus.
Rahul Ramanathan et al. · Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery · 2025

Why this rating

Based on multiple RCTs and large database studies cited, though some findings are mixed regarding specific complications.

Source

GLP-1 Receptor Agonists in Orthopaedic Surgery: Implications for Perioperative Care and Outcomes

Rahul Ramanathan et al. · Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery · 2025

DOI 10.2106/jbjs.24.01287

narrative_reviewCited 8×
Read the paper
DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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