Postgastrectomy osteoporosis

Abstract

Osteoporosis is a recognized complication following partial gastrectomy and is more common than osteomalacia. Recent improvements in the measurement of bone mineral status (dual energy X-ray absorptiometry, DEXA) have assisted in measuring osteoporosis. Sixteen men who had undergone gastrectomy more than 30 years previously were examined. This study reports the effect of calcium supplementation in six patients in whom osteomalacia had been excluded and who showed abnormally low bone mineral densities on DEXA scanning. Calcium supplementation for 6 months (microcrystalline hydroxyapatite, Ossopan® 8–32 g per day) produced no significant advantage for the treatment group at any site measured.