Weight ops linked to nerve damage

http://www.healthsentinel.com/news.p...st_item&id=325

"Weight ops linked to nerve damage", BBC News, October 16, 2004,
Link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3744144.stm

A significant number of patients who have stomach surgery to lose
weight develop peripheral nerve damage, research has found.

A team at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota found patients complained of
pain, tingling or numbness.

They believe the damage is caused by malnutrition as the body is less
able to absorb nutrients following surgery.

The research, focused on stomach stapling and gastric bypass surgery,
will be published in Neurology.

The researchers say the problem can probably be prevented by proper
nutritional care.

Neurologist Dr Jim Dyck, who worked on the study, said: "Surgeons who
do weight-reduction surgery and the general public and should be aware
that nerve damage is a frequent consequence of the surgery.

"I'm not saying that people shouldn't have this surgery, but I am
saying that there are real potential complications and that good
follow-up care is necessary."

The researchers found 16% of weight-reduction surgery patients they
studied developed a peripheral neuropathy.

These ranged from minor tingling or numbness in the feet to severe
pain and weakness confining patients to wheelchairs.

However, patients who were part of nutritional programmes before and
after their weight loss surgery generally did not develop problems.

Conversely, those who did not attend nutritional clinics were among
the most at risk, along with those who suffered prolonged periods of
nausea and vomiting, and those who lost weight quickly.

Some forms of malnutrition, such as thiamine deficiency, are well
known to cause peripheral neuropathy.

Dr Dyck said: "This is a life-changing operation. It's like having
transplant surgery - you need long-term follow-up."

The research focused on 435 patients who had undergone either
Roux-en-Y gastric bypass or vertical banded gastroplasty.

Reports of nerve damage were much more common than in people who had
undergone other forms of abdominal surgery, such as gallbladder
removal.

The researchers say they do not known if it is possible to reverse the
effects through improved nutrition.

Life-saving surgery

Dr Ian Campbell, chairman of the National Obesity Forum said it was
known that people who underwent stomach stapling surgery had a reduced
ability to absorb nutrients from their food - but this often improved
with time.

He said other forms of surgical treatment, such as silastic banding,
which involves putting a band around the top of the stomach, were
available. But stomach stapling was certainly an option for people
with extreme obesity.

He said: "Gastric bypass is only ever considered for people whose
lives are at threat because of their obesity.

"It is major surgery, but the risks are sometimes justified, as it can
be a life-saving procedure.

"Better to have a tingling in your feet than to have rip-roaring type
2 diabetes."