Welcome to the Bariatric Learning Center. We publish independent, unbiased news about the bariatric weight-loss surgery.
The presentation was titled: Neural Tube Defects: An Unforeseen Consequence of Gastric Bypass Surgery in Young Female Patients? It was presented at the 2010 conference of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).
According to the presentation, female patients who undergo gastric bypass surgery for weight loss may have a higher risk of bearing children with neural tube defects.
Diana Farmer, MD, University of California San Francisco (UCSF), recounted a story about a young woman who had gastric bypass surgery to lose weight, and later became pregnant. Medical testing later revealed that her fetus had spina bifida. So the woman visited the Fetal Treatment Center at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital to learn about the possibility of fetal surgery.
During the case workup, six additional cases were discovered where women who had undergone gastric bypass surgery for weight loss subsequently gave birth to babies with neural tube defects. Medical professionals believe that nutritional deficiencies (i.e., malabsorption) caused the defects. Malabsorption is a known symptom of gastric bypass surgery.
According to Dr. Farmer, a lead researcher in the case: “We believe that nonreversible gastric bypass surgery should be avoided in adolescent women given the increased risk of foetal neural tube defects.”
Learn more about gastric bypass.
