Gastric Bypass as a Diabetes Cure

Diabetes is a deadly disease with two different types. People with type 1 diabetes cannot produce any insulin, so they are dependent on daily insulin injections. People with type 2 produce insulin, but their bodies cannot use it properly. This type is often associated with obesity. Type 2 diabetics may be able to control their condition with diet and exercise, or they may have to take medication. All diabetics are prone to severe side effects such as nerve damage, kidney disease and vision impairment. Until recently, neither form of the disease was considered curable. However, gastric bypass surgery is showing great promise in curing type 2 diabetes.

Definition

• A gastric bypass operation is a surgical treatment for weight loss. It is performed by a bariatric surgeon, who makes a tiny incision and sections off small part of the patient's upper stomach to create a pouch. The pouch is connected directly to the lower part of the small intestine. Because the stomach's size has been drastically reduced, the patient can only eat a small amount of food at each sitting.

Purpose

• The main purpose of a gastric bypass is to help the patient lose weight. The National Institutes of Health says that the procedure should only be performed on people who are severely or morbidly obese. Besides weight loss, gastric bypass has been shown to have many health benefits. According to Dr. Eugenia Calle of the American Cancer Society, it reduces the chance of many types of cancer. It can also cure snoring and reduce high blood pressure. However, according to Dr. Neil Hutcher, a bariatric surgeon, one of its biggest benefits is that it can cure type 2 diabetes.

Effect

• Gastric bypass surgery puts type 2 diabetes into complete remission, and the disease does not appear to return. This means that type 2 diabetes patients no longer have to have treatment such as medication or insulin injections. Dr. Hutcher says the effect appears to be long term. The doctor has followed some of his formerly diabetic gastric bypass patients for 10 to 15 years, and their disease has not recurred.

Prevalence

• Gastric bypass surgery has no effect on type 1 diabetes, and it does not cure everyone who has type 2 diabetes. However, it does appear to be effective for the majority of type 2 diabetics who have the operation. A recent study showed that 80 percent of type 2 diabetics appear to be cured by a gastric bypass, with their disease going into complete remission. Diabetes Care Journal confirmed the effectiveness of the surgery.

Time Frame

• Type 2 diabetes is cured within weeks of a patient's gastric bypass surgery. It is not dependent on any weight loss. Dr. Francesco Rubino of the New York Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center believes this is because the surgery itself is the cure, rather than the loss of pounds. He says the cure appears to happen when food is kept from traveling through the duodenum. When he disconnected the duodenums of diabetic rats, their disease disappeared. However, it came back when he reconnected the duodenum. The Journal of the American Medical Associate said that gastric banding may cure type 2 diabetes too, even though it does not require disconnecting the duodenum. However, it is not as effective as gastric bypass.