• Irene Kang, Yu Suk Kim, and Choongbai Kim.
• Department of Surgery, Yonsei University, College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
• Nutrition. 2007 Apr 1; 23 (4): 318-22.

ObjectiveWe investigated the nature of nutritional deficiencies that arose in gastrectomy patients by comparing mineral absorption in patients with total and subtotal gastrectomies before and after operation.MethodsLevels of nutritional, micro, and toxic minerals were measured in a subject group of 20 patients with gastric cancer. Patients were grouped according to total versus subtotal gastrectomy. Hair tissue was collected 3 mo before and after operation from each patient. Tissue was analyzed by atomic absorption spectroscopy for levels of various minerals. Mineral ratios were computed to display changes in mineral levels, and results were statistically analyzed with SPSS 10.0 to obtain a measurement distribution. The t test was used to determine any significant difference between patients before and after operation.ResultsIn the preoperation test, sodium, potassium and iron levels were higher than normal, whereas boron and molybdenum levels were lower than normal. Although sodium levels decreased significantly after surgery, molybdenum, cadmium, and lead levels increased significantly. Potassium decreased slightly in the subtotal gastrectomy group, but increased significantly in the total gastrectomy group. However, there was no change between before and after surgery for most minerals.ConclusionIn the short term, gastrectomy does not seem to affect the levels of most minerals in the body. However, changes in sodium levels indicate that gastrectomy affects sodium absorbency in gastric cancer patients. Potassium levels increased significantly in patients who received total gastrectomies; this may also be an area that nutritional treatment should focus on.

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