Objective:

Vitamin B12 deficiency can be seen in the cases with sleeve gastrectomy. Because the chief factor in vitamin B12 deficiency is gastric atrophy, we aimed to evaluate the effect of atrophy on postoperative vitamin B12 levels in patients who underwent sleeve gastrectomy.

Material and methods:

Sixty patients were included in this study. Vitamin B12 levels were compared with presence of atrophy before the operation and after vitamin B12 supplementation.

Results:

Atrophy was observed in 37 (61.7%) of the cases; 23 (38.3%) patients had no atrophy. There was a statistically significant difference between the presence of atrophy and vitamin B12 levels (p = 0.024). Despite vitamin B12 support, there were statistically significant low vitamin B12 levels after the operation in female patients having atrophy (p = 0.023). The same significance was not observed in males (p = 0.480).

Conclusion:

Vitamin B12 deficiency following obesity surgery is a condition that must be monitored and prevented. We found that histopathologically confirmed atrophy had an adverse effect on postoperative vitamin B12 levels. These findings can be a guide for the clinicians in the management of these cases.