After bypass surgery, a 35-year-old woman lost much more than weight.
She ended up back at the hospital, barely conscious and weakness of all four members. A vitamin deficiency affected your brain and nervous system.Because of the loss of appetite, nausea and vomiting after surgery, the woman became very small vitamin B-1, or thiamine. This led to a severe disability and a difficult syndrome to recognize Wernickke encephalopathy. It is the same kind of condition that can be seen in long-standing alcoholics, and can lead to permanent disability.
"A high suspicion index for Wernicke encephalopathy is required in surgically treated patients", "Warn Raul Mandler, MD and colleagues from George Washington University School of Medicine.
The case, reported in the December 27 issue of Neurology, is a warning for doctors - and patients - to be looking for signs of complications of the nervous system after weight loss surgery. This is particularly common in patients who can not stop vomiting after surgery, notes from the University of Neurologist of Rochester Heidi Schwarz, MD, in an editorial that accompanies the report.Vitamin B-1 is found in foods such as pork, vegetables, grains, breads and cereals. It is absorbed through the small intestine.
Piercing In Ear For Weight Loss - Disability After Weight Loss Surgery
Wernicke encephalopathy has three classic symptoms: abnormal eye movement, mental confusion and inability to coordinate muscle movements. But only one in five patients actually has all three symptoms.
In the case of the bariatric surgery patient, there was the unusual symptom of progressive hearing loss. Twelve weeks after surgery, she was confused, had difficulty walking, and was very weak. She suffered more decline in time that doctors discovered the problem and gave his intravenous doses of B-1.
