#03. When to perform the Obesity Surgery?

Estimates and projections suggest that by 2045, drudgery diabetes will affect 700 million people.

Diabetes mellitus leads to damage of the blood vessel walls and consequently causes organ damage. When paired with hypertension and hyperlipidemia, it is often referred to as syndrome X or metabolic syndrome. In overweight patients, this leads to the damage of the large blood vessels, which in turn can cause heart diseases, including heart attack, or negatively impact the central nervous system and eventually result in a stroke. In patients without weight problems, small and medium-sized blood vessels are more likely to be damaged, causing health problems in the eyes, kidneys and feet.

Unfortunately, by the time of the diagnosis, the disease has usually been there for 2-3 years. The course of type 2 diabetes is rather slow, which makes this disease very even harder for us to detect quickly. Organ complications will finally appear after years of diabetes. A patient with type 2 diabetes usually uses up his insulin reserves within 10-12 years, and it is only after this time that any virtually irreversible organ damage is noticed. This will also most likely be the moment when the patient turns to us. Most patients will indeed avoid the operation for as long as everything seems to be fine on the surface.

Patients who have obvious indications for this operation are those whose blood sugar levels cannot be controlled with standard therapy as well as those who have already had organ damage. Obviously, it is preferable for the patient to contact a metabolic surgeon before an organ damage or complete depletion of the insulin reserve occurs.