Complications of pre-operative anorexia nervosa in bariatric surgery

Abstract

It is important to recognise that patients who seek weight loss surgery may have a history of restrictive eating or anorexia nervosa. The following case report describes a woman with a history of anorexia nervosa who underwent Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery. Her eating disorder symptoms subsequently reappeared and were largely resistant to treatment. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case report of a bariatric surgery patient with a prior history of anorexia nervosa. Further research is required to determine how best to select patients for weight loss surgery.

Keywords: Anorexia nervosa; Behavioural modification; Eating disorder; Gastric bypass.