Post-surgical refusal to eat: anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa or a new eating disorder? A case series.

Speculation concerning the role of psychiatric disorders in patients undergoing bariatric surgery is abundant in the literature. Psychiatric factors predicting the success or failure of bariatric surgery have not been adequately described. However, an increasing number of cases of eating disorders in the postoperative period are being reported. A concise literature review and 5 cases are presented with the purpose of studying the specific pathological eating habits of these patients. The criteria for Anorexia or Bulimia Nervosa were not fulfilled in most of the reports studied and were not met by the 5 patients described. The criteria for a new eating disorder (Post-Surgical Eating Avoidance Disorder, PSEAD) are proposed.