DO raises awareness of how weight loss surgery can lead to vision loss

When it comes to bariatric surgery, weight isn’t always the only thing lost.

Just before graduating from medical school in May 2016, Kyle Kirkland, DO, published a case report in JAMA Ophthalmology highlighting how a patient’s duodenal switch procedure led to severe vision impairment. Dr. Kirkland speaks on the importance of his case report and why students shouldn’t hesitate to publish their research.

Why is this particular case important?

Bariatric procedures can cause severe vitamin deficiencies that aren’t easily correctable. In this case, the patient needed intravenous Vitamin A therapy to restore her vision. The particular physical exam finding, lesions in the eyes, is commonly seen in severely vitamin-deficient children in developing countries. My co-author and I considered that this may become more prevalent in the U.S. with the expansion of bariatric procedures.

How did you and your co-author put together the case report?

Having a mentor was imperative. As a student, you’re not going to have your own patient population and you don’t have the experience to know if your subject matter is relevant for publication.

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I worked for my co-author and mentor, Russel E. Swann, MD, prior to medical school as an ophthalmic technician. We had this very interesting case and I wanted to write it up because there is only one other published report about this happening after the duodenal switch procedure.

At this point, I’ve done so much research on this specific happening that I will immediately recognize it if it shows up in clinical practice. It gives me more knowledge than the general medical student, and maybe even residents, if they’ve only seen this in a textbook.

What advice can you give to fellow students and prospective researchers?

Research takes a lot of energy and time, which isn’t something freely available to medical students, so get started as early as you can. It’s important to focus on a topic that interests you, because if you don’t get to the point of publication, you’re still cementing knowledge that you may use in practice someday. Research can be a long, daunting process, but I enjoy it, especially when the subject matter is of interest to me. I’ve always wanted to be able to restore sight for people, so I hoped to publish in the field of ophthalmology.

I want osteopathic medical students to know that publication is obtainable if you are dedicated and spend your time wisely. Your goal is publication, but that’s not the purpose of publishing. The purpose is to try to help educate yourself and others while furthering knowledge in your field.