Delayed fracture healing following jejunoileal bypass surgery for obesity

A 38-year-old woman, who 5 years earlier had undergone a jejunoileal bypass for gross obesity, fractured the distal forearm by a minor trauma. Circulating 25-hydroxycholecalciferol was undetectable without vitamin D3 supplement but increased to the lower normal range on a daily dose of 1200 units of vitamin D3. Serum 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol was, however, in the upper normal range, both without and with vitamin D supplement. After intestinal reanastomosis the fracture healed and the biochemical changes normalized. Malabsorption due to reduced amount of functioning intestine may cause severe metabolic bone disease, which may not always be reverted by a high-calcium diet and vitamin D supplementation.