The surgical treatment of diabetes has been widely agreed upon by medical and surgical authorities, and especially for obese diabetes surgery is far more effective than drug therapy alone. The goal of surgical treatment of type 2 diabetes is to enable the patient to make a complete recovery or even to get rid of the harmful effects of diabetes on a person completely. Gastric bypass surgery, a classic procedure, has been performed in the clinic for more than 50 years. The surgery is safe, and the experience of postoperative care and management has been written into the guidelines. For Chinese diabetic patients who have an innate fear of surgery and will have many questions and concerns, we will take a look at what are the advantages and disadvantages of gastric diversion (laparoscopic gastric bypass) today. It will help you further in your choice. First let’s look at what are the multiple advantages of gastric diversion surgery for type 2 diabetes? Advantage 1: Gastric bypass surgery for type 2 diabetes has a high cure rate, up to about 85% of patients with type 2 diabetes will be completely normal after surgery, with normal blood glucose and normal glycosylated hemoglobin, and patients are free from lifelong medication and do not need to control their diet. There are two main causes of diabetes development: one is insulin resistance. The second is pancreatic islet failure. After gastric bypass surgery, insulin resistance is gone, islet function is improved, and diabetes is gone. Advantage 2: Gastric bypass treatment for type 2 diabetes simultaneously treats obesity and the complications of obesity, and enables recovery from diabetic complications on the one hand. While internal medicine cannot reverse the complications that have occurred in patients, after gastric bypass surgery, most patients gradually recover from diabetic complications such as hand and foot numbness, retinopathy, diabetic foot, abnormal urine protein, and hypertension. In addition, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, etc. caused by obesity will also be significantly improved. Advantage 3: Gastric bypass surgery treats type 2 diabetes, thus avoiding the occurrence of disability and death caused by diabetes. The development of diabetes can cause serious damage to the eyes, kidneys, large blood vessels, small blood vessels, etc., and even lead to necrosis of the lower limbs, posing a serious threat to human life. After gastric bypass surgery, blood glucose is normal, complications no longer occur, and the dangers of diabetes are gone. Advantage 4: Gastric bypass for type 2 diabetes reduces the financial burden of the patient in the long run. The cost of a single surgical hospitalization may feel increased, but according to a survey, most diabetic patients who have had the disease for more than 5 years develop various complications that are very expensive to treat. For diabetic patients, a single surgical treatment, complications no longer appear and the financial burden is reduced. Advantage 5: Gastric bypass improves endocrine while treating diabetes: it improves severe endocrine disorders such as polycystic ovary syndrome and infertility. Advantage 6: Gastric bypass for type 2 diabetes is a laparoscopic procedure with fast postoperative recovery. The surgery is easy and fast, with little trauma and quick recovery, and you can return to work in a few days after surgery. So what are the disadvantages of gastric bypass surgery for diabetes? There are risks and potential complications associated with any surgery, and the same is true for laparoscopic gastric bypass. Disadvantage one: changes in the gastrointestinal digestive tract, the large open gastric sac cannot be examined by gastroscopy, but only by CT and other examinations or explored under laparoscopy. For patients with a family history of gastric cancer or recurrent gastric ulcers, they need to be considered carefully. Disadvantage 2: Postoperative anastomotic ulcers will occur, mainly in patients who smoke and drink, and regular postoperative gastroscopy is needed for early diagnosis and treatment. Disadvantage 3: The operation is relatively complex and requires high technical level of doctors and laparoscopic skills, so not all doctors are suitable for the operation. Disadvantage 4: Long-term vitamin and mineral supplementation is required after surgery. Patients are advised to take regular multivitamin supplements after surgery, especially iron, calcium, etc. It has been observed that postoperative complications in patients are manageable, and severe malnutrition rarely occurs after surgery, and almost all complications can be prevented. The surgery is only to reduce the irritation of food to the stomach and duodenum, and the overall digestive function is not changed, so malnutrition and poor diet do not occur. On the contrary, due to normal blood glucose after surgery, the patient is well recovered from a series of accompanying diabetic complications. For example, retinopathy, diabetic nephropathy, diabetic foot, diabetic dermatitis, diabetic sexual dysfunction, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia are gradually healed. The occurrence of serious complications has been eliminated, and the occurrence of disabling and fatal situations has been avoided. Considering that there is nothing like normal blood sugar for patients who are suitable for surgery, treating diabetes is a wise and effective choice for Asian patients.