Bariatric surgery, or “weight-loss surgery”, has become recognized by medical professionals and lay people alike as the most successful treatment for morbid obesity. Now, there is strong evidence showing that bariatric surgery, especially the gastric bypass, is also a cure for type 2 diabetes, forcing it into almost instant remission. These results are clear and striking and show great promise for the millions of US adults who suffer with type 2 diabetes. These people currently view their disease as progressive and incurable with the longterm fear and expectation of debilitating complications like blindness, amputations, and kidney failure secondary to life-threatening coronary artery disease or vascular disease. It is clearly time to view bariatric operations as interventions for patients with morbid obesity as well as diabetes.
Both the gastric bypass and the Lapband have been shown to result in complete remission of type 2 diabetes. With the gastric bypass, an operation that rearranges the gastrointestinal tract anatomy, diabetes has been shown to resolve in a few days—long before substantial weight loss. But remission of diabetes can also be achieved with the Lapband; studies show that at 2 years diabetes resolves in 50-70% of Lapband patients. Bariatric surgery is not only effective, but safe with a mortality today that is comparable to a simple gallbladder operation.
It is estimated that one-third of adults in the US are obese, and largely because of this, at least as many have diabetes or have borderline diabetes. Diabetes is one of the most expensive diseases to treat and patients who are diagnosed with it are burdened with constant monitoring of blood sugar levels, medications, and even frequent insulin injections.
At CBSI we think it important to raise awareness that through surgery, metabolic change is possible, and bariatric surgery is the best treatment known for the obese patient with diabetes. If you are morbidly obese and have diabetes, surgery is the best option to cure your diabetes and to lose weight longterm. If you have type 2 diabetes and are not obese, know that these are compelling data that represent a medical breakthough in the treatment of diabetes. We invite you to view the “60 Minutes” presentation or the recent newscast on "NBC Nightly News" provided here so that you can become an advocate for surgically treating your diabetes.
Labels: bariatric surgery, diabetes, lapband
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