Low Blood Sugar Linked to Weight Loss Surgery?
July 20, 2005
Weight
loss surgery is an increasingly popular way to treat
obesity, but researchers suggest that the procedure
may also lead to an unusual complication.
Researchers in this week's New England Journal of Medicine
describe six cases in which people were diagnosed with
noncancerous tumors in their pancreas following gastric
bypass surgery. These tumors caused the pancreas to
produce too much insulin, the hormone that processes
blood sugar, resulting in symptoms of low blood sugar
-- especially following meals.
In each case, the symptoms and low blood sugar problems
resolved after surgical removal of the affected part
of the pancreas.
Although it is possible that these tumors were present
before the weight loss surgery, the researchers say
it's their belief that the tumors formed after the surgery.
They speculate that gastric bypass surgery can lead
to the growth of these tumors by somehow increasing
the growth factors for insulin-producing cells.
They also say that the frequency of these rare tumors
in people who have gastric bypass surgery is much higher
than that seen in the general population.
The 'Dumping Syndrome'
Gastric bypass surgery involves making the stomach smaller
and allowing food to bypass part of the small intestine.
The surgery drastically limits the amount of food a
person can eat and the amount of nutrients that are
absorbed.
The surgery may also cause what's known as the "dumping
syndrome" -- when food moves too quickly through
the smaller stomach pouch and into the intestines. This
can cause symptoms such as nausea, weakness, sweating,
faintness, and possibly diarrhea soon after eating.
More research is needed to confirm if and how gastric
bypass surgery may cause noncancerous growths in the
pancreas and low blood sugar.
However, researchers say doctors should be aware of
this potentially newly discovered complication of weight
loss surgery and not necessarily ascribe the symptoms
of low blood sugar to the dumping syndrome.
Source: http://my.webmd.com
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