Neurological Complications After Bariatric Surgery in Turkish People

Clinicians might encounter with important neurological complications after bariatric surgery. These complications are often irreversible; thus, immediate diagnosis and appropriate treatment might improve neurological outcome. The objective of this study is to investigate neurological problems occurred after bariatric surgery. We attempted to improve the awareness of both clinicians and surgeons on the adverse neurological complications of bariatric surgery and management of these complications. This is a 1-year chart-based retrospective study of 705 patients who underwent bariatric surgery due to morbid obesity. All neurological complications were reviewed. Of the patients, 10 (1.4%) patients developed neurological complications including polyneuropathy, meralgia paresthetica, and peroneal mononeuropathy. There were 9 female and 1 male patients with an average age 28.9 years, ranging from 19 to 47 years. Herein, we reported some significant neurological complications after bariatric surgery in a large number of patient cohort. The percentage of patients who developed neurological complications (1.4%) is low compared with previous literature (ranging between 4.6% and 16%). Reporting this complication rate is important because the consequences of bariatric surgery may be debilitating to both clinicians and surgeons. The most important and frequent known cause of neurological complications is nutritional deficiency. Vitamin deficiency should be investigated at the earliest convenience and be treated quickly.