Diabetes is a chronic disease that affects almost every organ in the body. This can happen either due to reduced insulin production or due to increased insulin resistance in the body.
It has spread like an epidemic throughout the world. It has become a major health hazard and is a major cause of premature disease, kidney and heart disease, and even blindness, ulcers, and amputations worldwide.
Treatment for diabetes includes lifestyle changes, diet control, certain medications, and insulin therapy. Despite the best treatment, patients do not achieve good glycemic control, resulting in ongoing and slow damage to the blood vessels, kidneys, heart, brain, and eyes.
Metabolic surgery for diabetes
Today, metabolic surgery for diabetes has become a proven tool to resolve or control type 2 diabetes. As many as 80% of people with type 2 diabetes are completely cured of their disease after undergoing metabolic surgery. The remaining 20% experienced benefits in terms of reducing the quantity, amount and frequency of drug use. The need for insulin injections also decreased.
There are certain defined criteria that have been defined by the International Diabetes Federation, the largest governing body in the world for diabetes and related diseases, to select patients suitable for this operation. Other organizations supporting this operation are the American Heart Association and the American Diabetes Association.
This operation is performed laparoscopically (through the key holes). In most cases, drains and dressings are absent. A person can return home a day or two after surgery. There are special treatments for diabetic patients that are independent of BMI. Iliac interposition and duodenojejunal bypass are two such surgeries designed for this. They achieve good control of diabetes in more than 80% of patients.
Having said that, this surgery should only be done in specialized centers where it is done routinely by adequately trained and experienced surgeons. Thus, it provides a permanent cure for this traditionally considered progressive, inexorable disease called diabetes.
