Bulimia Misdiagnosis Leads to Stomach Pacemaker

A 14-year old girl who was misdiagnosed with bulimia is now able to eat after being fitted with a stomach pacemaker. Utah’s Gentrie Hansen was unable to hold her food and lost more than 30 pounds since December 2009. The doctors initially assumed it to be a yeast infection but when antibiotics failed to work, they believed that she was suffering from bulimia.

The doctors went on to the extent of offering her rewards each time she ate her food but Gentrie revealed that she always felt hungry and wanted to eat, but was unable to hold it down. Her physician Dr Janet Harnsberger then performed a number of tests before arriving at the conclusion that she was suffering from a rare neurological disorder known as paediatric gastroparesis.

When botox treatment and a gastric tube failed to work, Gentrie underwent an experimental surgery in which a gastric pacemaker was placed in her abdomen to send electric signals to get the stomach muscles working again.

“I am just dreaming of what it will be like to eat. Even a small cracker seems to me like a nice juicy steak, at least in my mind”, Gentrie said after successfully undergoing the surgery.


Source-Medindia