Background: Metabolic bone disease is a well-documented long-term complication of obesity surgery. It is often undiagnosed,
or misdiagnosed, because of lack of physician and patient awareness. Abnormalities in calcium and vitamin D metabolism begin
shortly after gastrointestinal bypass operations; however, clinical and biochemical evidence of metabolic bone disease may
not be detected until many years later. Case Report: A 57-year-old woman presented with severe hypocalcemia, vitamin D deficiency,and
radiographic evidence of osteomalacia, 17 years after vertical banded gastroplasty and Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. Following
these operations, she was diagnosed with a variety of medical disorders based on symptoms that, in retrospect, could have
been attributed to metabolic bone disease. Additionally, she had serum metabolic abnormalities that were consistent with metabolic
bone disease years before this presentation. Radiographic evidence of osteomalacia at the time of presentation suggests that
her condition was advanced, and went undiagnosed for many years. These symptoms and laboratory and radiographic abnormalities
most likely were a result of the long-term malabsorptive effects of gastric bypass, food intake restriction, or a combination
of the two. Conclusion: This case illustrates not only the importance of informed consent in patients undergoing obesity operations,
but also the importance of adequate follow-up for patients who have undergone these procedures. A thorough history and physical
examination, a high index of clinical suspicion, and careful long-term follow-up, with specific laboratory testing, are needed
to detect early metabolic bone disease in these patients.
MORBID OBESITY - BARIATRIC SURGERY - GASTRIC - BYPASS - OSTEOMALACIA - METABOLIC BONE DISEASE - SECONDARY - HYPERPARATHYROIDISM