What’s the best bariatric surgery procedure for diabetes remission?

Clinical trial pits gastric bypass against sleeve gastrectomy

Gastric bypass surgery is more effective than sleeve gastrectomy for remission of type 2 diabetes, according to trial results a year after surgery.

In the trial, known as Oseberg, the chance of remission at one year was 57% higher in the 54 patients with obesity and type 2 diabetes randomised to gastric bypass, compared with 55 similar patients randomised to gastric sleeve surgery.

Nearly three-quarters of those having the gastric bypass achieved remission at one year, defined as an HbA1c below 42mmol/mol without the use of glucose-lowering medications.

In contrast, just 27% of those undergoing a sleeve gastrectomy were in remission, the authors wrote in the Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology.