New guidelines recommend weight loss surgery for more obese people with type 2 diabetes. The American Diabetes Association says clinical trials show that the procedure can help patients better control their blood sugar and reduce their risk for heart attack and stroke. Under the new guidelines, bariatric surgery is now recommended as a treatment option for more people than ever before.
Dr. Philip Schauer from Cleveland Clinic says, “even patients with fairly mild obesity, BMI as low as 30, they may be eligible for surgery based on relatively new evidence that suggests that these operations are fairly effective and safe.”
Dr. Schauer says the guidelines are another tool for patients with type 2 diabetes who are not responding well to traditional medical therapy. He says advances in surgical methods have bariatric surgery a low risk procedure.