GLP-1 RAs Reduce Complications in Morbidly Obese Patients?

Attempting to change patient obesity levels prior to total knee arthroplasty is difficult, under the best conditions. A team from New York’s Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) set out to evaluate the effect of perioperative use of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) in this population. Their work, “Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists Decrease Medical and Surgical Complications in Morbidly Obese Patients Undergoing Primary TKA,” appears in the February 19, 2025 edition of The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery.     (

“Morbidly obese patients remain an unsolved clinical problem,” explained co-author Gwo-Chin Lee, M.D., a hip and knee replacement surgeon at HSS. “Traditional weight loss measures have had mixed results. These medications were approved for weight loss and have been shown to be effective at reducing weight. We thought it would be interesting to apply this concept to this specific population.”