Doctoral Defense in Medicine – María Sigurðardóttir

On Friday, September 26, 2025, María Sigurðardóttir will defend her doctoral thesis in Medicine at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Iceland.

The dissertation is entitled:
Preoperative Optimization in Total Joint Arthroplasty: Infection Risk and Health Effect. Cooperation of Hospital and Primary Health Care.
(Heilsuefling fyrir liðskiptaaðgerð: Áhrif á skurðsýkingar og heilsufar. Samvinna sjúkrahúss og heilsugæslu.)

Opponents:
Dr. Ib Jammer, specialist at Haukeland University Hospital in Bergen
Dr. Þorvaldur Ingvarsson, professor at the Faculty of Medicine.

The main supervisor was Professor Sigurbergur Kárason and co-supervisor Professor Martin Ingi Sigurðsson. In addition, Dr. Yngvi Ólafsson and Professor Emil Lárus Sigurðsson served on the doctoral committee.

The defense will be chaired by Professor Sædís Sævarsdóttir, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine. The ceremony will take place in the Festive Hall (Hátíðasalur) of the University of Iceland and begins at 13:00.

Abstract

Lower extremity total joint arthroplasty improves quality of life and reduces pain in end-stage osteoarthritis, but surgical site infections can cause severe complications, increased mortality, and costs. To decrease such risk preoperative optimization programs have recently gained interest, targeting modifiable risk factors such as obesity, diabetes, anemia, malnutrition, smoking, and poor fitness. The aim of this project was to implement an optimization pathway for the purpose of decreasing postoperative complications after TJA and study effects on general health. In a control group of 738 patients an association was found between obesity, diabetes/dysglycemia and superficial SSI. In the intervention group of 746 patients, greater awareness, and willingness to adopt lifestyle changes were observed, accompanied by improvements in weight, nutrition, diabetes control, and vitamin D status. Postoperatively, they had fewer superficial surgical site infections (OR 0.64) and surgical site complications (11.3% vs. 15.7%). However, long-term effects on periprosthetic joint infections, overall health, and mortality were not significant. These findings highlight the need for prospective studies on optimization programs and further evaluation of organizational and practice changes in patient care.

About the doctoral candidate

María Sigurðardóttir was born in 1954 and raised in Reykjavík. She graduated from the natural sciences track at Reykjavík Junior College and completed a medical degree in 1982. After her internship year, she began specialization in anesthesiology and intensive care at Helsingborg Hospital and Lund University Hospital in Sweden, completing her training in 1990. She also completed studies in Perioperative Medicine and Management in 2019.

In 2020, María began her doctoral studies at the University of Iceland and received grants from the Science Fund of Landspítali University Hospital and the Sigríður Lárusdóttir Memorial Fund.

Her parents were Vilhelmína Hólmfríður Vilhjálmsdóttir and Sigurður Finnbjarnarson, both deceased. Her husband is Ríkarður Sigfússon, orthopedic surgeon, and they have two sons: Ríkarður, married to Fríður Guðmundsdóttir, and Fannar, married to Hildur Magnúsdóttir. They have six grandchildren.