Study: Weight-loss surgery improves diabetes
A year ago, Jamie Wagar had several medical problems, including type 2 diabetes, and was more than 100 pounds overweight.
The 38-year-old Prairie du Chien, Wis., woman had weight-loss surgery known as Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, or bariatric surgery, June 27, 2007, at Gundersen Lutheran. She lost 110 pounds, reversed her diabetes and acid-reflux condition, and is back to an active lifestyle.
"I just had tons of blood work done, and everything, including my blood-sugar levels, came back normal," Wagar said. "Diabetes was huge and could have been life-threatening.
"I now feel wonderful, and I'm riding my bike, walking and even started jogging," she said. "I have so much energy. This surgery has helped give me my life back."
A recent Gundersen Lutheran study shows dramatic difference in blood sugar control for obese patients such as Wagar with type 2 diabetes who underwent laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery.
Dr. Shanu Kothari, Gundersen Lutheran bariatric surgeon, said the study showed surgery patients reduced their need for blood sugar medications and had significant and sustained improvement in their hemoglobin A1c levels, which are used to measure how well patients' blood sugar levels have been managed over time.
The study suggests that physicians should consider surgery sooner for obese patients with diabetes, Kothari said.
"Unfortunately, no medicine or combination of medicines can duplicate what we can do with the scalpel," he said. "The majority of our patients have good glucose control and go off their medications.
"Ultimately for these patients, we need to think of weight-loss surgery not as last-resort intervention but perhaps first-line treatment," Kothari said.
Kothari said the study is receiving attention because the data is strong. He said 51 gastric bypass surgery patients in the study showed a significant improvement in their hemo-globin A1c levels, with a 21.1 percent decrease in their average levels one year after surgery. The conventionally treated control group remained relatively stable, he said.
Before surgery, 84.3 percent of patients were on oral medications and/or insulin compared with only 22.4 percent one year after surgery and 26.1 percent three years after surgery.
The conventional treatment group actually saw an increase in those needing oral medications and/or insulin, with 66.7 percent of these patients on medications initially and then 83.3 percent three years later.
Gundersen Lutheran researchers recently presented their study findings at the American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery annual meeting.
By TERRY RINDFLEISCH
trindfleisch@lacrossetribune.com.
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