A passenger waits for a delayed flight at Heathrow airport's terminal four in London's Heathrow airport August 12, 2006. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

    BEIJING, May 30 (Xihuanet) -- Patients who undergo gastric bypass surgery for morbid obestiy may develop potentially disabling neurological complications, most likely due to deficiencies in certain nutrients, media reported Wednesday.

    Some patients begin hallucinating and lose the ability to walk a couple of months after the surgery, said Dr. Katalin Juhasz-Pocsine from the Universtiy of Arkansas in U.S. "After resolution of the acute symptoms they are quite weak, and it takes around a year to recover."

    "Some are permanently disabled," she said, adding among patients who develop symptoms years down the road, the spinal cord typically is affected, resulting in falling, extreme coordination and gait problems, and severe spasticity, and some individuals need to use wheelchairs.

    Gastric bypass patients and their doctors should be aware of the early signs and symptoms of neurological problems, and should know that these symptoms can strike many years after a person has had the surgery, Juhasz-Pocsine advised.

    The researcher suggested that steps should be taken to help prevent gastric bypass patients from developing these problems in the first place by advising them to take vitamin and mineral supplements and to avoid "severe and rapid weight loss."

    (Agencies)