Surgery Notes

The Taiwanese doctors presented at a press conference the positive results of therapy in 60 cases of diabetic gastric surgery operated for over a year.

“Diabetes is really a gastrointestinal disease, resulting from problems with the gastrointestinal hormones that influence insulin production, so it can be treated with gastric surgery,” said a spokesman for the doctors, Li Wei-jie.

In an experiment with 60 patients, average age 45 years, found that one year after gastric bypass surgery, 93.3 percent had a normal blood sugar level and in the case of gastric narrowing, the proportion was 46.7 percent.

Researchers at the Taiwan Normal University said that with current therapies, exercise and medication, a year, only 30 percent of patients achieved a normal level of sugar.

“The success of gastric surgery to control diabetes is unclear, but it takes a longer-term follow-up to prove that the result holds,” said Li.

One third of patients had symptoms of anemia and osteoporosis after gastric surgery, while the risk of gastric perforations is less than one percent, said the Taiwanese doctor.

Bypass surgery and gastric narrowing side effect is thinning of the patients, so it is necessary for prior review in order to avoid putting too thin, said Li.

The traditional treatment of diabetes is an appropriate plan of diet and weight control, physical activity plan and medication (if needed).