Bariatric Surgery and Diabetes

For many patients, bariatric surgery can dramatically improve the symptoms of type 2 diabetes. Bariatric surgery — also called metabolic or weight loss surgery — can significantly improve or even reverse type 2 diabetes, often before substantial weight loss occurs.

60 to 80 percent of bariatric surgery patients with type 2 diabetes experience an improvement in diabetic symptoms within a year of their procedure.

Many patients can modify or eliminate their diabetes medication following their procedure. In some cases, patients may even experience a remission from diabetes after surgery.

Diabetes After Bariatric Surgery

Obesity greatly increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, a lifelong disease in which your body does not properly process glucose, a kind of sugar, in your blood.

• The pancreas produces a hormone called insulin, which enables your cells to turn glucose from the food you eat into energy.
• People with type 2 diabetes produce insulin, but their bodies do not use it properly. This is called “insulin resistance.”
• For some people, bariatric surgery and losing weight help them better control their diabetes symptoms.
• In addition to weight, a variety of factors may contribute to the development of type 2 diabetes, including genetics.
• Keep in mind, not all patients will experience an improvement in diabetes after their surgery.

How Can Bariatric Surgery Affect Diabetes?

Learn how the type of bariatric procedure you undergo could affect your type 2 diabetes.

Sleeve Gastrectomy surgery and diabetes

This procedure, which removes a large portion of the stomach, has been shown to enable significant weight loss and metabolic improvement to enable better diabetes control and a decrease in symptoms.

Gastric bypass surgery and diabetes

Many people who undergo gastric bypass surgery experience dramatic weight loss — sometimes as much as 60 percent of their excess weight. Most gastric bypass patients show no signs of diabetes after their procedure.

Biliopancreatic diversion surgery and diabetes

This procedure, which removes a large portion of the stomach and changes the way food moves to the intestines, is shown to be the most effective weight loss surgery for minimizing the symptoms of diabetes.

After Weight Loss Surgery

Weight management in the form of diet and exercise is critical to both treating type 2 diabetes and achieving your weight loss goals after bariatric surgery.

Learn More at UPMC Health Beat

Learn more from the UPMC Health Beat blog.

• Can Bariatric Surgery Benefit Type 2 Diabetes?

More News

• Anita Courcoulas, MD, has conducted research on bariatric surgery and type 2 diabetes, plus one patient’s experience with the procedure.
• JAMA: Long-Term Outcomes of Medical Management vs Bariatric Surgery in Type 2 Diabetes
• Kristen’s Gastric Bypass Patient Story