What does weight loss surgery
have to do with diabetic retinopathy? Researchers reporting at the annual
meeting of the American
Diabetes Association on a small pilot study found weight-loss
surgery might accelerate progression of diabetic retinopathy in some cases. In
the study, seven of the 40 or 17.5% of the diabetes patients screened about a
year before and again after bariatric surgery suffered a progression of their
diabetic retinopathy as compared with the 2% to 4% of the overall diabetes
patients who develop retinopathy each year. The opposite impact might have been
expected. If you have a condition such as diabetic retinopathy that is the
result of the diabetes and the diabetes is in remission, it makes intuitive
sense that the progression of the condition would be arrested. Although a few
patients did appear to have regression of their eye disease most remained
unchanged after surgery in the study.
The
patients who did progress had higher pre-surgical glucose levels and the
greatest reduction in glucose levels afterward. A rapid reduction in blood glucose
after the weight loss surgery-which is called “normoglycemic re-entry” or a
temporary anemic episode after the weight loss surgery may actually be
responsible for in the progression of preexisting diabetic retinopathy, but the
mechanism is really unclear and requires a great deal of further investigation.
One fact for sure-even if after weight loss surgery your blood glucose is
normal, people with moderate background diabetic retinopathy prior to weight
loss surgery should be monitored closely post-surgery for evidence of
progression.
If
you or someone you know is diabetic and considering weight loss surgery they
are encouraged to schedule an eye examination at D’Ambrosio Eye Care by calling
us at 800-325-3937, visiting D’Ambrosio
Eye Care or facebook.com/dambrosioeyecare so that we can help recommend an
appropriate treatment plan.
Staffed
by a team of Ophthalmologists, Optometrists, Opticians, technical and
administrative staff who provide eye examinations for adults and children, cataract
surgery and intraocular lens implants (IOL), laser
vision correction such as LASIK, diagnosis and
treatment of cornea disease including cornea
transplants, care for diseases of the retina
including diabetes and age related macular degeneration and diagnosis
and treatment of glaucoma as well as contact lenses, eyeglasses, eyewear and
optical services.
D'Ambrosio
Eye Care is a leading eye and LASIK care practice with office locations
at 479 Old Union Turnpike,
Lancaster, Massachusetts 01523, 100 Powder Mill Road, Acton, Massachusetts
01720, 413 Main Street, Athol, Massachusetts 01331 and 74 Main Street, Gardner,
Massachusetts 01440 that serve the greater Boston and
central Massachusetts area.
