Effectiveness of a Daily-Balanced Multivitamin Product After Sleeve Gastrectomy: Results from a High-Volume Bariatric Center

Introduction: Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (SG) has become one of the most performed bariatric surgeries worldwide. However, SG leads to postoperative vitamin and trace element deficiencies, as well as other bariatric procedures.Materials and Methods: Provisioneat (R) is a customized multivitamin supplement for bariatric patients. The present study evaluates its effectiveness in decreasing nutritional deficiency rates following SG. A retrospective study of 101 patients who underwent SG between January 2017 and June 2018 was performed. Baseline albumin, vitamin D, vitamin B12, folic acid, iron, and calcium were measured pre- and postoperatively at 6, 12, and 18 months after surgery.Results: Before surgery, 29.7% and 14.9% of the patients presented vitamin D and folic acid deficiency, respectively. At the 6- and 12-month follow-up, no case of deficiency was registered. Conversely, after18 months, 33.7% of the patients presented vitamin D deficiency, despite supplementation. During the study period, the patients' serum levels of vitamin B12, albumin, calcium, iron, and folic acid were within the range.Conclusion: This specifically designed multivitamin supplement lowers the incidence of nutritional deficiency of vitamin B12, folic acid, calcium, and iron. However, we reported vitamin D deficiency in 33.7% of patients at 18 months of follow-up.