Terri Smith had gastric bypass surgery to treat her Type 2 diabetes and lose weight. She has lost 115 pounds since the surgery in January, allowing her to reduce her diabetes medication from three insulin shots per day to just one pill. Her doctor, who has performed over 1,000 gastric bypass surgeries, says almost all patients see reduced diabetes medication needs after the surgery due to lower sugar intake from eating less. The surgery provides significant and lasting weight loss and medical benefits for obese diabetics, but patients must commit to healthy lifestyle changes for life.

1. 6 metro
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2006 BOSTON The world's largest global newspaper
Gastric surgery offers hope
'I
TERRI SMITH SUFFERSfrom Type 2 diabetes. Fearing for her life, she sought surgery and had a gastric bypass.
CHRISTINA WALLACE 1-"cwallace@metr~boston.(om 1).:-- "
BOSTON In eight months,
Terri Smith went from
shooting insulin three times
a day to control her diabetes
to taking just one small pill.
The secret to her medical
miracle- Smith has lost 11S
pounds since January. The
secret to her drastic weight
loss - gastric bypass surgery.
"It is entirely possible that
I will someday never have to
take medicine for my dia-
betes again," said Smith, a
63-year-old Avon resident
and executive at Bank of
America.
According to Smith's doc-
tor, Edward Mun, who has
done more than 1,000 gas-
tric bypass surgeries, almost
all of his patients with Type
2 diabetes have experienced
a medical turnaround -
making the surgery more
and more popular fur people
suffering from the disease.
"The patient may remain
a diabetic but their medica-
tion requirements become
greatly reduced in 100 per-
cent of the cases," said Mun,
who practices at Faulkner
Hospital and teaches at Har-
vard University. "Because
the patient eats less, the
total amount of sugar intake
goes down drastically so
therefore it's easier to man-
age blood sugar."
The surgery isn't a cure-
all, Mun said. Patients have
to go on a lifelong diet once
they exit the operating
room, promising to make
smart fuod choices and cut
back on portions once the
appetite increases (typically
two years after the surgery.)
In addition, there are risks
related to any major opera-
tion, Mun said.
"If you look at all the
other treatments for dia-
betes, so far there's no cure.
All the other therapies are
directed toward managing
diabetes. The only thing we
know where patients can
come off medications is by
massive weight loss," Mun
said.
Doctors will only approve
the surgery in patients con-
sidered obese and with a
Body Mass Index over 40. In
most cases, these patients
have tried traditional diets
for years and have failed
repeatedly, said Mun.
At S-foot-l-inches tall,
Smith has gone from 263
pounds to 148 pounds and
she's not stopping. She
Surgery facts
• In 2005. an estimated
170,000 people in the
United States underwent
bariatric surgery. according
to the American Society for
Bariatric Surgery.
• Types of bariatric surgery
include gastric bypass,
laparoscopic adjustable
gastric banding, vertical
banded gastroplasty and
biliopancreatic diversion.
• Bariatric surgery should be
considered if a patient has a
Body Mass Index of 40 or
greater (100 pounds or
more overweight), or a BMI
of 35 or greater and co-
morbidities associated with
being obese, such as Type 2
diabetes. hypertension or
sleep apnea. METRO
claims the weight loss has
changed her life - she can
walk without pain, sleep
without discomfort and
breath easier. But the biggest
change, according to Smith,
is the comfort knowing dia-
betes will not ruin her twi-
light years.
"That surgery saved my
life," Smith said.
I 'Fina( 'Days...
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