A study published in the January issue of the Jourmal of the American Medical Association found that obese patients with Type 2 diabetes who underwent laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB) were five times more likely to have their diabetes go into remission than patients who engaged in conventional weight loss therapies, such as diet and exercise. The four-year study, which was led by Drs. John Dixon and Paul O’Brien from Monash University’s Centre for Obesity Research and Education (CORE), monitored 60 volunteers for two years who underwent significant weight loss of more than 10 per cent of their body weight.
Study Proves That Lap-band Abates Type 2 Diabetes
Of those who underwent gastric banding surgery, 73% achieved remission for Type 2 diabetes, compared to just 13% of the people who underwent conventional therapy. This was largely attributable to the far greater weight loss in the band patients, who lost on average 20% of their initial body weight. This study is unique because the patients in the study had BMI between 30 and 40. These are not patients who are not usually considered for Lap-Band surgery. Drs O’Brien and Dixon have been pioneers and leaders in the field of Lap-Band surgery and have published extensively on the benefits of Lap-Band surgery.
The important result of this article is that a simple out patient procedure may be able to cure a condition which has been traditionally treated with life long medication. Lap-Band surgery may not be the solution for all patients with diabetes, but it should at least be a subject for discussion between physicians and their patients with diabetes.