David Santiago G Castillejos, Abraham Paez, Ricardo Mata and David Castillejos*
Castillejos Eye Institute, San Diego, California, USA
*Corresponding Author: David Castillejos, Castillejos Eye Institute, San Diego, California, USA.
Received: November 14, 2022; Published: April 18, 2023
Case Report and Methods: We report the case of a 55 year old male with a history of bariatric surgery in the year 2008, who presented to our clinic with complaints of gradual decrease in vision affecting both eyes. We found severe SPK in both eyes, corneal abrasion OD, dense cataracts and evidence of PRP for PDR. After optimization of the corneal surface, cataract surgery was performed OD. 1 week after cataract surgery, his right eye examination revealed severe superficial keratopathy, corneal edema, and a corneal erosion. Results: Vitamin A levels revealed severe vitamin A deficiency with a value of <2.5 ug/dl (normal levels: 20.1-62.0 ug/dl). The patient was managed with Vitamin A 20,000 units daily by mouth and Vitamin C, 1 g by mouth BID. His management also included hydrophilic contact lens with high O2 permeability and PROKERA. The ocular surface health was successfully re-established after 25 days of treatment. Patient’s BCVA improved from CF/4ft to 20/40 (OD). Conclusion: Physicians caring for patients with vitamin A deficiency should intentionally look for ophthalmological manifestations. In bariatric surgery, particular attention should be paid to clinical manifestations of vitamin deficiencies and other clinical and laboratory data indicating malnutrition.
Keywords: Bariatric Surgery; Xerophthalmia; Vitamin Deficiencies; Ocular Surface; Vitamin A
Citation: David Santiago G Castillejos., et al. “Recurrent Xerophthalmia Associated with Vitamin A Deficiency Following Malnutrition Secondary to Bariatric Surgery".Acta Scientific Ophthalmology 6.5 (2023): 21-24.
Copyright: © 2023 David Santiago G Castillejos., et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.