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Wernicke's Encephalopathy After Laparoscopic Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass: A Misdiagnosed Complication

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Abstract

Malabsorptive syndromes and micronutrient deficiencies represent well-known long-term complications of bariatric surgery. Wernicke's encephalopathy (WE), a neurologic manifestation of thiamine deficiency, has been classically associated with alcoholism or severe malnutrition, but rarely reported after bariatric surgery. Herein, we describe the case of a 27-year-old woman that developed WE 10 months after laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass for morbid obesity that was initially misdiagnosed with a consequent retard in the appropriate treatment. Although only a few sporadic cases have been reported in the literature, all surgeons and physicians involved in the care of bariatric patients must be aware of this potentially serious complication.

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Conflict of Interest Disclosure

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Service de Chirurgie Digestive et Centre de Transplantation Hepatique, Hopital Archet 2, 151 Route Saint Antoine de Ginestiere, BP 3079, Nice Cedex 3, France

    Antonio Iannelli, Pietro Addeo & Jean Gugenheim

  2. Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Nice, Pôle Digestif, Nice, 06202, France

    Antonio Iannelli, Pietro Addeo & Jean Gugenheim

  3. Faculté de Médecine, Université de Nice-Sophia-Antipolis, Nice, 06107, France

    Antonio Iannelli, Pietro Addeo & Jean Gugenheim

  4. Service d’Imagerie diagnostique et Interventionelle, Hopital Archet 2, 151 Route Saint Antoine de Ginestière, BP 3079, Nice Cedex 3, France

    Sebastien Novellas

Authors
  1. Antonio Iannelli
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  2. Pietro Addeo
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  3. Sebastien Novellas
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  4. Jean Gugenheim
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Correspondence to Pietro Addeo.

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Iannelli, A., Addeo, P., Novellas, S. et al. Wernicke's Encephalopathy After Laparoscopic Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass: A Misdiagnosed Complication. OBES SURG 20, 1594–1596 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11695-010-0116-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11695-010-0116-0

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