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Swedish woman suffers nerve damage after surgery, hospital changes protocols

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Swedish woman suffers nerve damage after surgery, hospital changes protocols
Key Points
  • Angelica Henriksen suffered nerve damage and memory loss after stomach surgery due to vitamin B1 deficiency
  • She is training to recover, with improved memory and ability to walk with a walker
  • Torsby Hospital changed protocols to treat suspected vitamin B1 deficiency immediately

Henriksen is now training to regain strength and memory, with her persistence yielding positive results: her memory has improved and she can walk with a walker with splints in her shoes. She trains strength at the gym twice a week. According to SVT Värmland, Angelica Henriksen described her recovery as a process that will take time, with an uncertain duration.

5 miles with the walker as a milestone, and emphasized her determination to prove recovery is possible to herself, her children, and others. The specific type of stomach surgery she underwent and whether the vitamin B1 deficiency was directly caused by the surgery or pre-existing conditions remain unclear, as does the exact timeline of her symptoms and diagnosis after the surgery. Torsby Hospital changed its routines after a lex Maria case involving a patient who developed neurological problems after obesity surgery due to vitamin B1 deficiency.

It will take time and you don't know exactly how much.

Angelica Henriksen, Patient

According to SVT Värmland, Bengt Hasske, operations manager for surgery at Torsby Hospital, described that when there is a suspicion of vitamin B1 deficiency, patients should receive immediate treatment with vitamin B1 supplementation instead of taking tests and waiting for results. It is unknown what legal or compensatory actions, if any, resulted from her case, and how many other patients may have been affected by similar issues at Torsby Hospital.

It would be awesome to be able to walk 1.5 miles with the walker, a little milestone.

Angelica Henriksen, Patient

I stood my ground, I won, and I prove to both myself, my children, and hopefully so many others, that it's possible.

Angelica Henriksen, Patient

I cannot comment on individual cases but we have changed the routines after a lex Maria, where there was a patient who got neurological problems after an obesity surgery due to vitamin B1 deficiency.

Bengt Hasske, Operations manager for surgery at Torsby Hospital

When you have a suspicion of vitamin B1 deficiency, you should not take tests and wait for results, but patients get immediate treatment with vitamin B1 supplementation.

Bengt Hasske, Operations manager for surgery at Torsby Hospital
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