Background: Functional studies of how duodenal-jejunal exclusion (DJE) brings a superior glycemic control when added to sleeve gastrectomy in duodenal-jejunal bypass with sleeve gastrectomy (DJB-SG) patients, are lacking. To study this, we compared the appetite sensations and the β-cell response following a standard mixed meal in patients with DJB-SG, versus those with sleeve gastrectomy (SG) alone.
Methods: Twenty one patients who underwent DJB-SG and 25 with SG, who participated in mixed-meal tests (MMTT) preoperatively and at 1 year, with complete data were included and compared. Blood glucose, C-peptide, and insulin levels were estimated, along with the visual analogue scale (VAS) scoring of the six appetite sensations, as a part of the MMTT.
Results: At 1 year following surgery, compared to SG group, DJB-SG group had greater complete remission rates (HbA1C <6.0 %) of 62 versus 32 % (p < 0.05), with similar total body weight loss (25.7 vs. 22 %). There were significantly lower post-prandial blood glucose and lower C-peptide levels during the MMTT in the patients with DJB-SG compared to SG group. There were no significant differences in the appetite sensations (mean VAS) scores between the groups.
Conclusion: The addition of DJE component to SG, as in DJB-SG, was associated with higher diabetes remission rates, lower glycemic fluctuations, and lower C-peptide levels. This may point to a β-cell preserving glucose control which could result in longer remission of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). This effect also may be unrelated to food intake as there were no significant differences in the appetite sensations.
Keywords: Duodenal–jejunal bypass; Metabolic surgery; Mixed-meal tolerance test; Sleeve gastrectomy; β-cell response.