[volleyball]

Here is a link to 60 minutes videos about bypass and diabetes. Only think I had not seen is a Italian doctor who says he can make diabetes go and then come back surgically.

The Bypass Effect ...on 60 Minutes; Exclusive Video Only on Yahoo! News

What do you think?

[REDLAN]

I haven't watched the video (nor do I intend to), but I suspect that we have something more akin to an infomercial, rather than a balanced piece of television that weighs up the pros and cons of what is a very risky piece and dramatically life changing piece of surgery.

Does the video mention the following facts?

1) reversing diabetes before the weight loss claim - I'd love to see the study in which this was shown. In the odd patient maybe... EVERY study that I have seen looking at remission of type 2 found that the chance of remission was directly related to weight loss. The more weight loss experienced, the more likely the symptoms of type 2 were to disappear. The differences between gastric bypass and gastric band were down to differences in weight loss.

2) does the video mention the mortality rate from this kind of operation? It's high - worse than having coronary artery bypass surgery.

3) does it mention the complication rates after surgery? significant numbers of patients have to have further surgery to repair their bypasses.

4) does the video mention that gastric bypass patients frequently suffer from anemia, and vitamin deficiencies, which do not respond well to supplementation?

5) does the video mention that this kind of surgery needs extreme lifestyle changes, and that many people find this hard to adapt to or maintain - gastric banding is cynically known as surgical buliminia in the medical profession due to the commonest side effect - frequent vomiting.

6) I like the living proof - success stories behind the gastric bypass. Sounds very unbiased doesn't it?

Sounds very much like an infomercial to me

[Funnygrl]

You should have watched the videos man.

1. The videos state that the diabetes reversal occurs in a week, or even less. Well before the weight loss.

2. 1/1000. Not bad.

3. & 4. are essentially the same. It doesn't directly talk about complications, but these are just short little blurbs about it's effect on diabetes.

5. You only vomit if you try and eat more food than your body tells you you can handle. I've never heard of it referred to as "surgical buliminia (sic)"

6. They had people on there that had it.

Honestly, hypoglycemia related to dumping syndrome secondary to gastric bypass is a well known issue, so I'm not surprised that they're seeing diabetes disappear. Further, you're not eating for awhile after surgery, so I'm not surprised blood sugars are immediately reduced.