Can liposuction help the patients with diabetes type 2?

Liposuction is usually regarded as a pure cosmetic procedure, a procedure to remove unwanted pockets of fat from our body and make us slim and smart. However, excess fat deposits in our body are strongly associated with many diseases, most prominently, heart disease and diabetes type 2.

Doctors have long known that diabetes type 2 responds well to fat reduction through healthy diet and exercise. However, is there any relation between liposuction and diabetes type 2? Can liposuction help the patients with diabetes type 2?

The same question arose in the minds of some doctors. Lipoplasty Society of North America, American Society of Plastic Surgery, and the National Institute of Health sponsored a study to find out the relationship between liposuction and diabetes type 2.

Study leader Sharon Y. Giese, MD removed an average of twelve pounds of subcutaneous fat (fat under the skin). Most of these women have some level of insulin resistance. To her surprise, every woman was down one to two clothing size, retained twelve pounds of weight loss, and twelve inches off their body. She measured the insulin resistance. “I am not sure how the surgery helped, but liposuction has changed insulin metabolism,” she told.

Nobody should draw any conclusion based on this small study. This study provides beginning of a possibility rather than a result. However, even Bruce Zimmerman, former president of ADA (American Diabetes Association) thinks that the premise is interesting. He explains, “It was visceral fat (fat around internal organs) which was thought to have an influence on diabetes type 2. It is interesting to see if the removal of subcutaneous fat can also have a positive effect on diabetes.”

Besides all the new research, we should not forget that the human body has survived and evolved in millions of years. We should welcome technological innovations, of course; however, we should regard them as an addition to our existing set of tools! We should not replace them with the things we have been doing for the past millions of years. Avoid the “classic coke mistake”. Take the full advantage of scientific innovations like liposuction but do not ever think of leaving time tested healthy habits like eating clean and adequate physical activity.