Short-term effects of sleeve gastrectomy on type 2 diabetes mellitus in severely obese subjects

Background: Data on the effectiveness of sleeve gastrectomy (SG) in improving or resolving type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) are scarce. Methods: A 4-month prospective study was conducted on the changes in glucose homeostasis in 35 severely obese T2DM subjects undergoing laparoscopic SG (LSG) and 50 subjects undergoing laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (LRYGBP), matched for DM duration, type of DM treatment, and glycemic control. Results: At 4-months after surgery, LSG and LRYGBP operated subjects lost a similar amount of weight (respectively, 20.6 +/- 0.7% and 21.0 +/- 0.6%). T2DM had resolved respectively in 51.4% and 62.0% of the LSG and LRYGBP operated subjects (P=0.332). A shorter preoperative DM duration (P < 0.05), a preoperative DM treatment not including pharmacological agents, and a better pre-surgical fasting plasma glucose (P < 0.01) or HbA1c (P < 0.01), were significantly associated with a better type 2 DM outcome in both surgical groups. Conclusions: Our data show that LSG and LRYGBP result in a similar rate of type 2 DM resolution at 4-months after surgery. Moreover, our data suggest that mechanisms beyond weight loss may be implicated in DM resolution following LSG and LRYGBP.