The new study suggests that weight loss surgeries such as gastric bypass surgery are as safe as gallbladder or appendix removal now. Ultimately, individuals with Type II Diabetes who choose to have laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery have a lower risk of complications or death, according to this new study.
The study was presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery and was published in the journal Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism. According to the study’s co-author, Dr. Ali Aminian, a clinical scholar of advanced metabolic and diabetes surgery at Cleveland Clinic, “the perception of gastric bypass surgery is that it is a risky operation, but [we have found] that it is safe if not safer than most other commonly-performed surgeries in America.”
According to Aminian, the risk-to-benefit ratio of gastric bypass for obesity and diabetes is favorable because there’s significant weight loss, major improvements in remission and improvement of Type II Diabetes and a low complication and mortality rate overall. Also the study reveals that the earliest intervention with metabolic surgery helps to eliminate any need for higher-risk procedures later for cardiovascular complications of diabetes (if weight loss does not occur).
The gastric bypass surgical procedure works by shrinking the size of the stomach and helps food to bypass a portion of the small intestine. This reduces the amount of food that a person eats at one time as well as limits the absorption of food in general.
Previous research on the topic has shown that gastric bypass surgery does have beneficial effects on diabetes patients within just hours or mere days following surgery. In some particular cases, patients no longer need their diabetes medications at all when they leave the hospital.
While laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery was once considered high-risk procedure, this study finds that it is as safe as many other operations such as appendix removal, knee replacement and gallbladder removal surgical procedures.
The researchers at the Cleveland Clinic Bariatric and Metabolic Institute who analyzed patient data from more than 16,500 patients with Type II Diabetes who had the procedure as well as over 67,000 patients who had other surgeries. The researchers found that the 30-day complication rate for weight loss surgery patients was 3.4% similar to gallbladder and hysterectomy patients and the 30-day date was .30%, nearly one-tenth of the rate for heart surgery patients.
The researchers do note that more studies are needed on the long-term effects of laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery and diabetes patients to prove their long term effects.