Effectiveness and safety of laparoscopic Roux-en-Y Gastric bypass in treating type 2 diabetes mellitus in non-morbidly obese patients

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (LRYGB) for achieving type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) remission in patients with body mass index (BMI) in the range of 25-35 kg/m(2).

Methods: Twenty-two non-morbidly obese (BMI: 25-35 kg/m(2)) patients with T2DM underwent LRYGB. The changes of BMI, fasting plasma glucose (FPG), and glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels were recorded, and the prognostic factors were analyzed.

Results: All these 22 patients successfully underwent LRYGB and were followed up for twelve months. Two patients (9.1%) developed complications: one patient had an early hemorrhage at the gastrojejunostomy site, and the other had frequent loose stools that required revision surgery. At 12 months, 14 patients (63.6%) showed T2DM remission, 6 (27.3%) showed glycemic control, and 2(9.1%) showed improvement. Compared with the latter two groups, patients in the T2DM remission group had significantly higher BMI (P=0.001), younger age (P=0.002), and shorter duration of diabetes (P=0.001) before operation.

Conclusions: LYRGB can efficiently and safely treat T2DM in non-morbidly obese patients. Early intervention in these patients may yield better outcomes.