Z. Nihei et al., CHRONOLOGICAL CHANGES IN BONE-MINERAL CONTENT FOLLOWING GASTRECTOMY, SURGERY TODAY-THE JAPANESE JOURNAL OF SURGERY, 26(2), 1996, pp. 95-100
Recent advances in the modalities of quantitatively assessing bone min
eral content have resulted in an increasing awareness of metabolic bon
e disease as a late complication following gastrectomy. In this study,
98 postgastrectomy patients were examined by quantitative computed to
mography (QCT). The bone mineral density index (BMDI), defined as 100
X (measured bone mineral density divided by that of age and sex-matche
d controls), was used to evaluate the actual effect of gastrectomy on
bone disorders. The BMDI values following gastrectomy were 80.4 +/- 27
.3, with no significant difference between men and women, or between t
otal and distal gastrectomy. Moreover, no significant differences were
observed between the BMDI values within 6 months, being 92.6 +/- 37.3
, and those 6 months to 1 year post gastrectomy, being 79.6 +/- 31.2;
however, a significant and sharp decrease to 70.5 +/- 36.0 was evident
after 1-2 years. The regression coefficient of the BMDI measured with
in 2 years postoperatively was lower than that measured after 2 years.
These findings suggest that the influence of gastrectomy on bone meta
bolism is induced within 2 years, after which the bone mineral content
decreases in accordance with physiological nature. Thus, we conclude
that the treatment for bone disease resulting from gastrectomy would o
nly be effective if initiated within a short period after surgery.