Vitamin A Deficiency and Bowel-Associated Dermatosis-Arthritis Syndrome Secondary to Biliopancreatic Diversion for Obesity

Morbid obesity is a public health problem in the developed world and is considered the second most important preventable cause of death after smoking. Biliopancreatic diversion (BPD), consisting of a distal gastrectomy with Roux-en-Y reconstruction, is a surgical technique used to treat obesity.1,2 The reduction in fat and carbohydrate absorption associated with this procedure can achieve a maintained loss of 75% of the excess weight.2 We describe the case of a patient with BPD who presented 2 different types of skin lesions. The patient consulted 2 years after surgery with phrynoderma and night blindness due to vitamin A deficiency and later, 8 years after surgery, she presented skin lesions consistent with intestinal bypass arthritis-dermatitis syndrome. Case Report