Nutritional support after bariatric surgery

The prevalence of obesity has been steadily increasing worldwide. In this context, we observe an increase in obesity surgery (or bariatric surgery). This type of surgery leads to complications related to the intervention in an obese patient, but also specific nutritional complications. The three major types of bariatric surgery are as follows: restrictive procedures; restrictive malabsorptive procedures and both. The metabolic changes associated with obesity can be further exacerbated by illness. Main aims of nutritionnal assistance are limiting the process of protein malnutrition and hypercatabolism. This surgery has the feature to apply to obese patients with a perioperative risk, to initiate severe metabolic changes and induce deficiencies in vitamins and trace elements. The nutritional management is a challenge for multidisciplinary teams responsible for these patients. (C) 2012 Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.