Nutritional Optic Neuropathy Status Post Bariatric Surgery

Abstract

A 31-year-old woman who had lost 240 lbs following bariatric surgery 3 years ago presented with decreased vision. The patient was found to have deficiencies of folate and vitamin B₁, and to a lesser degree vitamins B₆ and B₁₂. The patient was treated with vitamin supplementation but without improvement. Bariatric surgery is known to cause B vitamin and folate deficiencies, which can lead to both serious ocular and neurological complications. This is important as the incidence of obesity increases and thus the number of bariatric procedures. It is paramount that patients undergoing these procedures and their physicians be made aware of the need for vitamin supplementation to prevent nutritional optic neuropathy.

KEYWORDS::

• Bariatric surgery
• Gastric bypass surgery
• Lap-band surgery
• Nutritional optic neuropathy
• Vitamin deficiency

Declaration of interest:: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper. This work was supported in part by an unrestricted grant from Research to Prevent Blindness (New York, New York) and the Pat and Willard Walker Eye Research Center, Jones Eye Institute, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (Little Rock, Arkansas).