Bariatric Surgery Effective Treatment for Diabetics Without Weight Problems

A recent interview posted on Medscape details a number of weight-related factors that should be considered in the treatment of diabetes, including the surprising information that bariatric surgery may be used to treat diabetic patients of normal weight. The interview featured doctors Henry R. Black and Louis J. Aronne, both of whom are prominent members of the New York medical community.

The doctors discussed a range of topics during the interview, including the use of behavioral therapy, medications and bariatric surgery for weight loss and diabetes. They also discussed the validity and complexity of clinical trials for bariatric procedures, which diabetes medications can make you gain weight, and the use of bariatric surgery on patients of normal weight to control diabetes.

Diabetic Patients with Normal Weight May Benefit from Bariatric Surgery

One interesting topic of discussion was a recent study which showed that various forms of bariatric surgery was successful at helping people to lose between 50-70 pounds. Though some have criticized the study, Dr. Aronne believes that the study was done well, and that the results are accurate.

Another topic of discussion in the interview was the use of bariatric surgery for patients of normal weight. In Dr. Arrone’s words, “We follow the guidelines for surgery, but with a twist. In other words, we have a division of diabetes surgery. We have a surgeon, Dr. Francesco Rubino, who has a protocol to do surgery on patients with diabetes, and he has operated on patients with normal body weight.

So besides the obese type 2 diabetic patients, besides the very obese patients with a BMI of 40 and above, we’ve found that some people with diabetes respond quite well to gastric bypass. There’s something about not letting food touch the duodenum that dramatically improves glucose, and there’s no medication that can duplicate that.”

Dr. Henry R. Black, MD, is a clinical professor of Internal Medicine at the New York University School of Medicine, and he interviewed Dr. Louis J. Aronne, who is the director of the Comprehensive Weight Control Program at the New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center.

(Editor’s Note: As this article is a Medscape journal article, it may not be accessible through the above link without a Medscape account.)