Surgery for diabetes (metabolic surgery)
Losing weight can help people to manage their Type 2 diabetes. Medical research has shown that having surgery for obesity can directly affect the way that the body uses insulin, in addition to helping someone lose their excess weight. Surgery can:
- Influence how the hormones in the digestive system work, which affects the way your body makes insulin
- Increase the quantity of bile acids made in the body, making cells more sensitive to insulin
- Improve the way that our cells use insulin, helping to lower blood glucose levels
Types of Type 2 diabetes surgery (metabolic surgery) include:
- Removal of part of the stomach to reduce its size, restricting the appetite and intake of food
- A gastric by-pass
- Minimally invasive surgery to the duodenum
All these interventions help to reduce the amount of food and drink you can have, because you don’t need as much to feel full, but they also help your body to use insulin more effectively. While surgery isn’t a permanent ‘cure’ for Type 2 diabetes, there is good medical evidence that it can mean you will be able to stop taking medication and enable your diabetes to go into remission.
A member of our metabolic team will be able to discuss your options for surgery with you and advise you on the best type of surgery for your condition. Our metabolic surgery and medicine team can use minimally invasive laparoscopic (keyhole) interventions and endoscopic procedures instead of surgery in some cases.
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