Bariatric surgery, in addition to helping a person reduce weight, which makes people keep type 2 diabetes control their disease. These results have a positive long term impact, according to a study presented at the 26th. Annual Meeting of the American Society for Bariatric Surgery and Metabolic.

These data indicate that bariatric surgery should be considered more fully into account by physicians and endocrinologists, as a solution for people with morbid obesity and both also suffer from type 2 diabetes. This alternative offers a better opportunity for the diabetes into remission or be controlled long term hold.

Dr. Christine Ren, professor of surgery at the University of Medicine of New York along with other researchers collected data on 95 patients with a mean age of 49.3 years who had undergone gastric banding surgery between 2002 and 2004. In 2008 we studied the data from these patients, follow-up for five years after the operation.

During follow up five years after surgery, average body mass index decreased from 46.3 to 35, with 48% in average loss of excess weight.

Besides weight loss, 40% of patients had complete remissions in relation to diabetes. Their levels of blood sugar were normal, and stopped taking medications, including insulin. Another 40% of patients experienced improvement in their disease, and decreased the dose of treatment, after which their levels of blood glucose showed significant improvements. In 43% of patients, the diabetes disappeared completely.

Nearly 88% of patients were in treatment or therapies to fight diabetes before the procedure, saw their disease decreased by 47% after five years. 15% using insulin before surgery, decreased use by 9% at follow up.

In addition, researchers from Virginia Commonwealth University looked at 177 patients, of whom 147 were women, who underwent gastric bypass surgery and suffered from diabetes. These surgeries were performed between 1993 and 2003. In addition were followed at 5 and 16 years after the surgical procedure for the study.

In this study divided the patients into three groups based on treatment before surgery they had: dependent on insulin, oral medication, diet and changes in lifestyle. For each group there were 59, 83 and 35 patients respectively.

Of all patients, 157 had a remission, and body mass index (BMI) decreased from 50.2 to 31.3 after bariatric surgery. Of these 157 patients 43% returned to weight gain and type 2 diabetes

Bariatric surgery, in addition to solving the problem of overweight, has been shown to help improve or control type 2 diabetes in most patients with this disease before surgery. The gastric bypass provides better results for patients who come in early stages of their illness.

Gastric bypass is the best option for people who are overweight and have diabetes. Obesity Goodbye exists in comprehensive treatment for these patients, and our aim is to provide excellent service to enable them to regain health.

The work, coordinated by Michel Suter, Hospital Chablais (Aigle-Monthey, Lausanne, Switzerland), compared the case of 492 patients with morbid obesity (body mass index-BMI-was greater than 40) with 133 individuals superobese (BMI greater than 50). All of them had undergone bariatric surgery, specifically gastric bypass and laparoscopic Roux.

Among other variables, researchers evaluated the amount of weight loss, improved quality of life and the impact of the intervention on other diseases or conditions suffered by participants.

The results of their work showed that morbidly obese individuals were able to reduce their weight by 34.7% at 18 months of invtervention. Six years later, this group had achieved average losses of 30.1% of body weight.

For their part, patients had lost weight superobese to two and a half to a maximum of 37.3%, after six years, the weight loss amounted to 30.7%.

Similar results

Although the losses were slightly higher among individuals superobese, the average body mass index in this group remained significantly higher than the rest because of its higher initial overweight.

“Between 85 and 90% of morbidly obese individuals were able to reach a BMI below 35, while less than 50% of superobese succeeded. Of these, 25% remained in the range of morbid obesity, “write the researchers.

Despite these differences, researchers found that the development of diseases associated with obesity, such as changes in cholesterol or glucose metabolism was similar in both groups.

Improvements in quality of life of patients after surgery was similar among participants, although some had greatly reduced their level of obesity.

“The lower residual weight or BMI is not the only important thing. Other aspects of the outcome of bariatric surgery must be evaluated to draw meaningful conclusions on the effectiveness of the operation,” the researchers comment in their work.

Nevertheless, these authors note that, to ratify the results of their work should be carried out further research, because in his work only took into account a particular surgical technique.

In an article accompanying this work in the medical journal, the surgical specialist of the University of Wisconsin (USA), Jon Gould, agrees with the authors noted that bariatric surgery is “more than a weight loss operation” .

“The community of scholars should emphasize changes in the health and quality of life that are achieved with these operations,” he concludes.