Call for gastric band surgery in treatment of type 2 diabetes

Calls from healthcare professionals to recognise gastric band surgery for treating type 2 diabetes have been increased in light of new data which shows that intervening early with the procedure offers the greatest chance of remission.

Surgeons say it should be considered as a therapy for type 2 diabetes and pre-diabetes in the morbidly obese¹.

The study, being presented at the General Practitioner’s Conference & Exhibition (GPCE) in Perth on Saturday 16 August, followed a group of 682 gastric band patients of which 78 had type 2 diabetes, 64 had impaired glucose intolerance and 100 had metabolic syndrome at the time of their procedure.

Out of the 78 patients with type 2 diabetes 81 per cent taking oral hypoglycaemic agents stopped or reduced their medication along with 75 per cent of insulin users. Of those taking a combination of oral hypoglycaemic agents and insulin 43 per cent reduced or ceased their use of oral hypoglycaemic agents while 93 per cent reduced or ceased their use of insulin.

Gastric band surgeon, Professor Jeff Hamdorf, a Professor of Medical Education and Director of Clinical Training and Education Centre at The University of Western Australia, believes the findings reinforce the growing body of evidence that suggests gastric band surgery should be an option in the treatment of diabetes.

“As well as reducing a person’s morbid obesity, early intervention with gastric band surgery offers the greatest chance of remission of type 2 diabetes. Given these results and the collection of recent findings on this subject, I believe that gastric band surgery should seriously be considered as a therapy for type 2 diabetes and pre-diabetes in the morbidly obese,” said Prof Hamdorf.

Gastric band surgery is generally performed via minimally-invasive ‘keyhole’ surgery, where a low pressure, soft band is placed around the upper part of the stomach, which acts to divide the stomach into two sections. Food collects quickly in the small upper section of the stomach causing patients to feel full faster and eat less.

Reference
1. A. Brancatisano et al. Gastric banding for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus in morbidly obese, Surgery for Obesity and Related Diseases, Volume 4, Issue 3, May-June 2008, p423-429.

AAP