Bypass of the duodenum improves insulin resistance much more rapidly than sleeve gastrectomy

Obesity is very often accompanied by other diseases, with the most common type 2 diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular complications. Bariatric surgery is the most effective strategy for treating morbidly obese patients. We evaluated the metabolic changes that occur in the early stage after 2 types of bariatric surgery, biliopancreatic diversion of Scopinaro (BPD) and sleeve gastrectomy (SG), in morbidly obese patients.

The study was undertaken in 31 nondiabetic morbidly obese patients (7 men and 24 women). Of the 31 patients, 18 underwent BPD and 13 underwent SG. All patients were examined before bariatric surgery (baseline) and at 15, 30, 45, and 90 days postoperatively.

Significant improvement occurred in the anthropometric variables after the 2 types of bariatric surgery, without significant differences between the 2 types of interventions. In patients undergoing BPD, the serum glucose, cholesterol, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and free fatty acids were significantly reduced. The changes that occurred in these biochemical variables after SG were not significant. Insulin resistance decreased significantly during the 90 days after surgery, with the greatest decrease at 15 days. However, in the patients who underwent SG, insulin resistance worsened at 15 days and later diminished.

The results of the present study have shown that the surgical technique that excludes the duodenum (i.e., BPD) has immediate postoperative changes in the degree of insulin resistance in morbidly obese patients compared to those techniques that do not exclude the duodenum (i.e., SG).