Metabolic Surgery: an option that improves Diabetes in patients with overweight and obesity
On World Diabetes Day, Dr. Guillermo Muzio (M.N. 103.786) highlights the effectiveness of metabolic surgery to reverse type 2 diabetes. This disease, which affects nearly 4 million people in Argentina, can significantly improve with this intervention, achieving remission in 80% of cases and reducing the need for medications.
In the context of World Diabetes Day, Dr. Guillermo Muzio, director of the Bariatric Treatments Program at Red Bariátrica in Buenos Aires*, reflects on the impact of this disease and how metabolic surgery has become a key tool for improving the quality of life of patients with Type 2 Diabetes. This is a disease that affects approximately 10% of the adult population in Argentina and represents a significant challenge for the healthcare system due to its chronic complications, which include damage to organs such as the kidneys, eyes, and heart.
Muzio emphasizes that, in recent years, bariatric surgery or obesity surgery has been redefined as “metabolic surgery” due to its ability to reverse or significantly improve metabolic diseases such as Type 2 Diabetes. “For patients with overweight or moderate to severe obesity and diabetes, this surgery offers a therapeutic option with excellent long-term results that are not possible with any medication therapy,” he explains.
According to the expert, in patients with a body mass index (BMI) between 27 and 35, surgery not only facilitates considerable weight loss but also improves blood glucose levels, reducing the need for medications in many cases. These benefits extend even further if the patient has other metabolic diseases such as Hypertension, Fatty Liver, or lipid abnormalities.
Studies from recent years show that up to 80% of patients with Type 2 Diabetes who undergo metabolic surgery achieve remission of the disease within the first two postoperative years, which represents hope for those suffering from this chronic condition. Furthermore, Muzio clarifies that this intervention is not exclusive to cases of obesity: “Patients with poorly controlled diabetes and overweight are also candidates, as this surgery helps prevent greater damage to their health.”
What does metabolic surgery consist of?
The expert explains that it is a minimally invasive surgical intervention, meaning it is performed through tiny incisions and involves creating a new small stomach to provide more satiety and direct food to the last part of the small intestine. In this way, the surface area for calorie absorption is reduced, and there is an increase in intestinal hormonal mediators that effectively impact the brain's appetite centers and substantially improve pancreatic functions. This affects the secretion and effectiveness of the patients' own insulin to reverse Type 2 Diabetes.
In Argentina, the cases of Obesity and Diabetes have been increasing in parallel over the last few decades, highlighting the need to consider multidisciplinary approaches for the treatment of both conditions. For those patients who cannot control their Diabetes through conventional treatments, metabolic surgery presents itself as an effective alternative that, according to Muzio, “radically changes the lives of patients, who will live more years and better.”
*The specialist is also a member of SACO (Argentine Society of Obesity Surgery), IFSO (International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity and Metabolic Disorders), and ASMBS (American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery).