Can Bariatric Surgery Control Diabetes Mellitus?
An increasing number of studies suggest that the answer to the question “Can Bariatric Surgery Control Diabetes Mellitus?” maybe is a yes. In many cases, bariatric surgery is an effective tool for people with type 2 diabetes. To be clear, diabetes is not well understood, and medical science cannot claim a permanent “cure.” The goal is to put diabetes into remission. Remission means a return to normal blood sugar levels and not needing diabetes treatment. With normal glucose levels, the development of diabetes complications stops and allows the body to repair the damage.
In other words, remission means that you are current and will remain “cured” unless the factors are causing it to return to cause a relapse. So the real question is whether bariatric surgery leads to remission from type 2 diabetes. In most cases, the answer is definitely yes.
This article provided by Dr Venu Gopal Pareek gives more information about how bariatric surgery improves diabetes mellitus.
What is Diabetes?
Diabetes currently affects more than 150 million people worldwide and is expected to increase rapidly. More than 90% of people with this disease have a type 2 form associated with obesity and overweight, lack of physical activity, family history, and age. Unlike type 1 diabetes, where the pancreas doesn’t produce enough insulin, the pancreas makes enough insulin in people with type 2 diabetes, but the body can’t use insulin for unknown reasons. Modern therapy, including diet, exercise, oral antidiabetic drugs, and insulin, does not always cure disease.
Traditional therapy for diabetes
The goal of treatment is to normalize blood sugar levels. The long-term goal is to prevent long-term complications such as eye and kidney disease, nerve and blood vessel damage. Blood sugar control reduces the risk of death, stroke, heart failure and other complications. The first-line treatment for type 2 diabetes is weight loss, diet, and exercise. Proper diet planning involves choosing healthy foods and eating the right amounts. Exercise is essential for effective diabetes management. Regular exercise helps burn excess calories, which helps control body weight and improves blood sugar control.
If diet and exercise are not sufficient to maintain normal blood sugar levels, medication may be needed. They activate the pancreas to produce more insulin and help insulin work better by reducing the absorption of carbohydrates from the intestines or decreasing glucose production in the liver. Poor blood sugar control despite lifestyle and medication changes means insulin has to be injected.
What is bariatric surgery?
When it comes to diabetes treatment or diabetes remission, the Roux-en-Y gastric bypass is the gold standard for bariatric surgery. The surgeon directs food to pass through the stomach and beginning of the small intestine.
Bariatric surgery can help cure diabetes, high blood pressure, severe joint pain, even infertility, and many other ailments. Bariatric surgery changes the anatomy of the intestine to aid in weight loss.
Weight loss surgery usually results in longer and more lasting weight loss than traditional medicine. Bariatric surgery also leads to improved quality of life and obesity-related complications such as diabetes, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, and orthopaedic problems.
Can Bariatric Surgery Treat Diabetes in Patients?
Studies show that nearly 90% of patients with weight loss surgery have improved their diabetes condition. These improvements indicate that the patient has decreased blood sugar, reduced the dosage and type of medication required, and improved the associated health problems. The study also found that 78% of patients with type 2 diabetes experienced complete remission from their disease through bariatric surgery. This is evidenced by normal blood sugar levels and lack of postoperative treatment.
How does bariatric surgery “cure” type 2 diabetes?
Healthy weight loss plays an important role in lowering blood sugar levels in people with type 2 diabetes. Bariatric surgery is the most effective way for obese patients to lose weight significantly. Many see a reversal of their diabetes immediately after gastric bypass surgery or gastric sleeve surgery, even before they lose weight.
One theory suggests that passing through or removing a part of the stomach immediately affects how glucose is processed in the digestive system. Another claim is that passing food directly into the lower intestine stimulates a substance called glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1), increasing insulin production. Scientists also suggest that hormones that cause hunger, such as Peptide Y (PPY), can be eliminated by rearranging the gut’s anatomy. In other words, when people want less sugar, they may have better control over their blood sugar levels.
However, study after study shows that bariatric surgery is much more effective in treating diabetes than drug therapy alone. Long-term studies have shown that even when patients fail to achieve remission, their glucose levels are lower than those who do not undergo surgery.
The Risk of Bariatric surgery is far less than other life-threatening complications due to Diabetes.
Bariatric surgery has some risks, but the benefits outweigh any potential problems. The risk of bariatric procedures has decreased with increasing skills and technical improvements. The death incidence is less than0.1 %, and the complications rate is less than 0.3%. For each year of follow-up, medically treated diabetic patients had a 4.5% chance of dying, compared to a much lower 1% chance for bariatric surgery patients. This is an acceptable risk for the tremendous clinical benefit of minimizing the progression of type 2 diabetes in obese patients. Given the risk-benefit ratio, bariatric surgery is very effective compared to medical treatment. The risk of dying from complications of diabetes is greater than the risk of dying from surgery.
The Sooner the operation, the better is the results.
An important finding from many studies is that the shorter the history of diabetes, the greater the chance of a full recovery. Glucose toxicity, especially in uncontrolled diabetes, accelerates B-cell deficiency. B cells are located in the pancreas and produce and secrete insulin. Weight loss can increase the response of B cells to glucose. If bariatric surgery is performed before irreversible B cell insufficiency occurs, permanent weight loss is associated with a high likelihood of long-term remission.
Conclusion:
People suffering from obesity and diabetes who have not had significant results with standard interventions should see a leading bariatric surgeon in Hyderabad.
Considering a person’s specific age, lifestyle changes and possible recovery time, diabetes surgery is a safe choice for those who need to see significant changes to ensure their quality of life.
Dr Venu Gopal Pareek offers comprehensive preoperative assessment and postoperative care. An experienced multidisciplinary team of doctors, nurses, psychologists, and nutritionists has established excellence centres in bariatric surgery with leading positions in the US, India. Seminars, lectures, self-help groups and individual training courses help to understand better how bariatric surgery works and whether diabetes can be treated effectively in this way.
Call Dr Venu Gopal Pareek today to know more about bariatric surgery and diabetes. Call us on 091777 77715.
