Bariatric Surgery and Long-Term Health

Gastric bypass surgery allows people to loose significant amounts of weight rapidly, however there are some drawbacks. Gastric bypass procedures make the stomach smaller, allowing food to bypass the small intestines. One of the drawbacks of gastric bypass surgery is that as the food moves directly to the lower intestine which does not absorb nutrients as well as the upper intestine less nutrition is derived from food.

Nana Gletsu Miller, Ph.D. an assistant professor at the School of Public Health at Emory University followed the health of 155 patients who had a gastric bypass surgery in 1999. They found that 12% of the participants in the study had a severe deficiency in copper, an essential nutrient found in meats, nuts, shellfish, leafy greens and other common foods.

"The problem is that blood tests won't necessarily reveal anything about a person's copper levels," Gletsu Miller said. "But with our tests, all nutrient levels were so low (after the surgery) that we were able to see the copper levels drop, and then detected the ensuing complications, like neurological issues, trouble walking, tingling in fingertips and numbness."
Dr. Miller had several recommendations for post-op bariatric patients. The first is to continue getting routine checkups after surgery. Less than 20% of postoperative patients get there six month checkup after surgery, leaving them vulnerable to issues like copper deficiency, which doesn’t display any symptoms within the first year. Second, she advised that patients take a multivitamin daily, making sure that it’s one that includes copper. Many patients feel so healthy they fall out of the habit taking the vitamins in the months after surgery. Her final piece of advice was for patients to be aware of the warning signs of copper deficiency.
 
Source: American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery