01-04-2017 | Case Report
Bilateral insufficiency hip fractures after bariatric surgery
Published in: Osteoporosis International | Issue 4/2017
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Bariatric surgery is one of the most common surgeries within developed countries due to the increase in morbid obesity that has been observed in the past decades. The short-term alterations in the metabolism of calcium and vitamin D are well known after these procedures; however, the clinical and biochemical consequences may not be detected for years or even remain undiagnosed. We present the first case of bilateral insufficiency hip fracture after years of bariatric surgery. Although this is a long-term and rare complication, with the high number of gastric bypass performed in the past years, the number of these cases could increase with time. Moreover, it is important as an undiagnosed hip fracture can cause a displacement that could need an arthroplasty, with all the complications that entails. For that reason, this long-term complication highlights the need to reevaluate the optimal follow-up of these patients and the importance to continue monitoring metabolic bone diseases in the prevention of insufficiency fractures.