The Center for Medical Weight Loss Reacts To New Weight Loss Surgery Study

August 07, 2012

A new study has found that gastric bypass surgery can reverse diabetes, but the disease returns in about 21 percent of patients within three to five years. The news comes as little surprise to The Center for Medical Weight Loss, which operates the largest network of non-surgical medical weight loss centers in the United States.

According to Dr. Michael S. It is misleading for anyone to think surgery alone will cure diabetes. Patients need to be aware of other safe and effective options”.    

In this latest study, researchers examining diabetes reoccurrence at the Mayo Clinic in Arizona looked at 72 people who had undergone a Roux-en-Y gastric bypass procedure between 2000 and 2007. Patients who participated in the study received three years of follow-up visits to measure their progress, and all had Type 2 diabetes before their surgery. Sixty-six of the patients had a reversal of their diabetes after their surgery. However, diabetes returned in 14 (21 percent) of those 66 patients at some point during the five-year follow up.

This is the latest in a series of findings that question the effectiveness of bariatric surgery to treat diabetes. Two April 2012 studies published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that as many as 1 in 4 patients who underwent surgery did not have their Type 2 diabetes go into remission.

Kaplan recommends those with Type 2 diabetes enroll in a clinically-proven, non-surgical physician-led weight loss program first. Considering that a 5 percent reduction in excess weight has been shown to dramatically improve control of Type 2 diabetes, following such a program could be just as effective in managing the disease as surgery.

According to Kaplan, bariatric surgery should only be recommended to patients whose Type 2 diabetes remains out of control after undergoing a physician-led weight loss program. “If patients reach this point they need to be made aware of the very real risks associated with surgery, including death, pulmonary embolism, wound infections, and nutritional deficiencies”.

The new study also found that the longer patients had diabetes previous to weight loss surgery, the higher the chance that it would return, irrespective of weight regain. I have seen patient after patient successfully manage their diabetes through behavioral therapy, diet and exercise alone...Each fully individualized program is customized to the patient, taking into account his or her medical history, body composition, and personal goals. This individual care is supported with on-going one-on-one counseling by the physician on important topics including nutrition, fitness, behavioral modification, motivation, and, where necessary, prescribed medications. Physicians in The Center for Medical Weight Loss network are all certified professionals specially trained in non-surgical bariatric medicine who have access to the latest techniques and medical data, including high-quality nutritional products and FDA-approved weight loss medications only available to medical doctors...For more information, visit http://www.centerformedicalweightloss.com.

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