Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy: Effect on long-term remission for morbidly obese patients with type 2 diabetes at 5-year follow up.

BACKGROUND: In the short-term, laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy has been shown to be effective for the treatment of the type 2 diabetes in patients with severe obesity. There are few data with greater follow-up. Our aim was to evaluate the results of laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy on the control of type 2 diabetes in patients with severe obesity at 5 years at the University Hospital, France.

METHODS: From a total of 355 patients with severe obesity operated between January 2006 and June 2010, 52 (15%) had a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes before undergoing laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy.

RESULTS: There were 31 females (60%) and 21 males (40%), with a mean age of 51 ± 10 years (range 27-67) with a mean body mass index of 48 ± 10 kg/m2 (range 35-82). The mean duration of type 2 diabetes was 10.8 ± 10.8 years before bariatric operation. The preoperative glycated hemoglobin was 8 ± 2% (range 5.9-12.8) in 45 patients; 17 patients (38%) had levels of glycated hemoglobin ≥9%. Three patients (6%) required insulin alone, 4 (8%) were taking oral antidiabetic medicine and insulin, and the remaining 45 patients (87%) were taking only oral antidiabetic medicines. The complete data regarding weight loss at 5-year follow-up were obtained for 46 patients, yielding an overall follow-up rate of 89%. The prolonged remission of type 2 diabetes achieved at 1 year that persisted at 5 years of follow-up was present in 9 patients (17%). No patient with complete remission of their type 2 diabetes required insulin preoperatively. Improvement of type 2 diabetes was observed in 30 patients (58%) at 1 year, which was maintained for 27 patients (52%) at 5-year follow-up.

CONCLUSION: Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy has demonstrated a moderate efficacy in the treatment morbidly obese patients with type 2 diabetes. Markedly increased preoperative glycated hemoglobin levels, older age, and preoperative need for insulin treatment may be the factors predicting failure of complete remission of type 2 diabetes after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy.