By ANIKA CLARK
April 30, 2012 12:00 AM
Just days after new studies pointed to weight loss surgery's effect on diabetes, Fairhaven resident Kenneth Souza had an operation that would change his life.
In the month since having gastric bypass surgery, "I've felt better than I have in maybe two or three years," said Souza, 46, who figures he's dropped 5 to 6 pounds a week. "I have a lot more energy. I can breathe easier."
He has also seen another major perk. More than a decade after he was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, "I have insulin sitting in my fridge, but I haven't touched it since the surgery," he said.
The National Diabetes Fact Sheet, 2011 estimated that 8.3 percent of the United States population had diabetes in 2010, and it was the seventh leading cause of death. Type 2 diabetes is the most common form, occurring when the body fails to make enough insulin or the cells ignore the hormone, according to the American Diabetes Association.
Two articles published in March by The New England Journal of Medicine highlighted how different types of weight loss surgery can improve this illness.
Research by the Cleveland Clinic studied the effects of gastric bypass surgery and an operation called sleeve gastrectomy on Type 2 diabetes. The first procedure makes the stomach smaller, while also limiting how many calories can be absorbed through the bypass of most of the stomach and the first part of the small intestine, according to the Mayo Clinic. Sleeve gastrectomy involves the removal of part of the stomach, leaving only a banana-shaped "sleeve."
The Cleveland Clinic study involved 150 obese, diabetic patients. A total of 50 of them had gastric bypass and medical therapy, such as medication, lifestyle counseling and weight management. Another 50 had a sleeve gastrectomy and medical therapy and 50 had medical therapy alone.
Along with losing more weight and requiring less medication for blood pressure and cholesterol, surgical patients "were significantly more successful at controlling their diabetes, compared to those who simply took medications," said lead investigator Dr. Philip Schauer in a prepared statement.
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Local type 2 diabetics see added benefits of weight loss surgery
