If death was not bad enough, now blindness is  a possible complication of obesity and it’s treatment.  A series of patients have recently been identified who presented with  Vitamin A deficiency  from several months to 18 years after gastric bypass surgery.  With the increasing frequency of the  procedure, both patients and  healthcare providers need to be aware of the potential for Vitamin A deficiency in patients who have had any number of surgeries for obesity as well as other surgeries such as liver transplants.  I myself identified a young man with severe Vitamin A deficiency after a liver transplant.  It would appear that the complaint of night blindness is the most common presentation as it was in this patient as well as the four patients recently reported by researchers from Texas.

So, another good reason to look carefully at one’s diet and lifestyle, avoid the Metabolic Syndrome X, gastric bypass surgery,and purpose to maintain an ideal body weight.

Michael Mong, M.D.
Grapevine, Texas

A case report in Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, May/June 2006 describes a 43-year-old man who was on statin monotherapy (10 mg Lipitor) for hypercholesterolemia and developed unilateral blepharoptosis, that is drooping of his eyelid. The authors conclude that statin-induced myositis in the levator muscle should be considered as a possible cause of acquired eyelid drooping.