Investigating a new approach to treating Type 2 diabetes with surgery are, from left, University of Texas Medical School faculty members Erik Wilson, M.D., Kelly Wirfel, M.D., Brad Snyder, M.D., and Philip Orlander, M.D.
By ROBERT CAHILL
The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
A surgery designed to improve or resolve Type 2 diabetes is being tested by physicians at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.
The procedure, performed at Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center, is designed for adults who have Type 2 diabetes and who are overweight or obese but not morbidly obese. Ten patients are undergoing the surgery, and will be compared to another 10 who are being treated with drugs, diet and exercise.
In the surgical procedure, surgeons remove a section of the ileum – the final section of the small intestine – that is about 5 feet long and reattach it to the stomach. They also remove about 80 percent of the stomach. The procedure is performed through tiny incisions in the abdomen.
Human studies have shown that when you place the ileum closer to the stomach, food from the stomach enters the ileum quickly and hormones that help regulate diabetes are easily stimulated, said Brad Snyder, M.D., principal investigator of the study and an assistant professor of surgery at the UT Medical School.
The procedure is similar to bariatric surgery for morbid obesity. Research shows that oftentimes Type 2 diabetes improves or resolves in morbidly obese patients following gastric bypass surgery.
“Currently, many patients with Type 2 diabetes must take medication on a daily basis to keep sugar levels in check,” Snyder said. “If we can get patients into remission and off their medications, then we could open the door for people who want to pursue careers as firefighters, police officers and commercial pilots who may at times be limited by this disease.”
Type 2 diabetes is a serious health problem and can lead to blindness, limb amputation and heart disease. It is characterized by an elevated blood sugar level associated with the body’s inability to produce enough insulin or to use the insulin properly.
The diabetes surgery has shown encouraging results in clinical research conducted abroad. Participants in the UT study will be followed over a two-year period. If successful, the next step could involve a large clinical trial, Snyder said.
Other UT physicians and researchers involved with the study are Erik Wilson, M.D., associate professor of surgery and chief of elective general surgery; Philip Orlander, M.D., professor of medicine and director of the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism; Frank Moody, M.D., professor of surgery; and Kelly Wirfel, M.D., assistant professor of medicine.
Snyder and Wilson are also members of a UT Specialty Surgery Center called Minimally Invasive Surgeons of Texas, which Wilson directs, and are on the medical staff of Memorial Hermann-TMC. Wilson is also medical director of bariatric surgery for Memorial Hermann-TMC.
will there be further studies/surgeries to apply for