Another approach to controlling type 2 diabetes involves bariatric surgery. In two studies of severely obese diabetic patients, weight loss surgery worked much better than medication to control blood sugar, triglycerides and other metabolic markers of type 2 diabetes.
Although stapling the stomach or rerouting the small intestine eventually helped subjects drop pounds, blood sugar control improved rapidly. A high proportion of people living with type 2 diabetes are overweight or obese, and the researchers suggest that more of them would benefit from weight loss surgery such as stomach bypass. Few currently receive it. Because such major surgery can have complications, patients should fully understand the risks as well as the benefits of such interventions before jumping on the bandwagon.
[New England Journal of Medicine, online March 26, 2012]
The People's Perspective on Medicine