ABSTRACT
Introduction:
Plastic surgeons have received in their outpatient clinics an increasing number of patients complaining of body contour defects due to the massive weight loss after a bariatric surgery. However, owing to dietary restrictions and surgical desorption, metabolic complications and nutritional disorders are commonly observed in the late postoperative period after gastroplasty. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of major nutritional disorders related to healing in patients at a specialized outpatient plastic surgery clinic who underwent gastroplasty.
Method:
This is an observational, transversal, and descriptive study, in which a laboratory protocol was used to clinically evaluate and assess the patients.
Results:
Thirty-two patients who underwent gastroplasty at least 2 years previously with weight stability for at least 6 months were evaluated. The major disorders identified included anemia (56% of patients) and deficiency in iron (31.2%), vitamin B12 (25%), zinc ions (18.7%), and copper (3.1%). Mild deficiencies in the protein profile were also observed; however, no deficiencies in basic and lipid biochemistry were noted.
Conclusion:
The plastic surgeon should have an in-depth knowledge about the prevalence of the major nutritional disorders related to healing in postbariatric patients, to allow correction of possible deficiencies and prevention of complications. However, more studies would be required to correlate any dietary deficiency to the complications observed in the postoperative period in this group of patients.
Keywords:
Gastroplasty; Ex-obese; Bariatric surgery; Plastic surgery
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