We have added the abstract from a new publication authored by Wouter Schievink, MD and colleagues, published online today by Neurology.
They studied 338 patients with spontaneous intracranial hypotension (SIH) and compared them with 245 patients with unruptured intracranial aneurysms. They found that 11 of the SIH patients (3.3%) and 2 of the aneurysm patients (0.8%) had had bariatric surgery. In those 11 patients, onset of headaches ranged from 3 months to 20 years after the surgery.
This is an association and does not prove causation, but physicians should be aware of this link between bariatric surgery and headaches from spontaneous intracranial hypotension. It is possible that very significant weight loss could unmask the symptoms of a pre-existing spinal CSF leak.
See the Publications Abstracts resource page.