Severe Hypoalbuminemia Following Mini Gastric Bypass Surgery: A Case Report
Background: Severe obesity is a major public health issue affecting health and life expectancy. Bariatric surgery is one of the most effective treatments for managing severe obesity, facilitating significant weight loss, and improving or resolving comorbid conditions like type 2 diabetes (T2DM), hyp...
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| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Bushehr University of Medical Sciences
2025-02-01
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| Series: | Iranian South Medical Journal |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://ismj.bpums.ac.ir/article-1-2095-en.pdf |
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| Summary: | Background: Severe obesity is a major public health issue affecting health and life expectancy. Bariatric surgery is one of the most effective treatments for managing severe obesity, facilitating significant weight loss, and improving or resolving comorbid conditions like type 2 diabetes (T2DM), hypertension (HTN), and sleep apnea. However, despite successful weight loss, it may lead to nutritional complications, including hypoalbuminemia, anemia, hypocalcemia, and pancytopenia.
Case Presentation: A 32-year-old woman with a BMI of 42.5 kg/m² underwent mini gastric bypass surgery with a 150 cm biliopancreatic limb (BPL). Post-surgery, her weight decreased to 66 kg, resulting in a 120% reduction in BMI. Approximately 2.5 years later, she developed weakness, lethargy, and difficulty performing daily activities. Clinical evaluations revealed significant hypoalbuminemia. The patient received only two injections of albumin, and has been treated with a high-protein diet and daily protein supplements since then, which corrected the hypoalbuminemia.
Conclusion: BPL length, type of surgery, and patient age and gender should all be considered for selecting patients for bariatric surgery in order to minimize complications like hypoalbuminemia. If complications occur, the initial management should focus on nutritional interventions. Surgical revision, such as reopening the anastomosis, should be considered only when conservative treatments fail. This case underscores the importance of careful surgical planning, thorough evaluation, and adherence to nutritional protocols to prevent complications. Future research should explore factors affecting nutritional and metabolic outcomes and develop preventive strategies. |
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| ISSN: | 1735-4374 1735-6954 |