Physicians turn to liposuction when diabetics don't diet

As doctors struggle to rein in the growing epidemic of type 2 diabetes, some are contemplating unorthodox solutions.

By Victoria Stagg Elliott, AMNews staff. Sept. 16, 2002.

Cut out the belly fat.

A surgical procedure may sound extreme in the context of stanching the nation's emerging epidemic of type 2 diabetes. But, in some instances, liposuction is being considered a possible answer to the problem faced by physicians frustrated in efforts to help a growing number of patients control this illness.

Obesity, especially in the form of excess fat around the middle, is a primary risk factor for type 2 diabetes and its complications. Clearly, diet and exercise are the proven and preferred routes to preventing and managing the condition. But these steps often are unsuccessful because of a lack of patient compliance. So could liposuction be the silver bullet?

Questions and doubts persist. First, its possible benefits in this regard are the stuff of anecdotes rather than science. In addition, the procedure carries greater risks and a higher price tag -- $4,000 to $6,000. Still, for a small but growing number of doctors dealing with patients who can't or won't make lifestyle modifications, it is becoming an option.

Over the past year, Robert Jackson, MD, an Indianapolis surgeon who does cosmetic procedures, has had three or four patients referred to him by endocrinologists for liposuction. These are patients who have been unable to address their diabetes through the more traditional routes. He is one of many surgeons who report similar patient requests as a means to treat this chronic illness.

"All the diabetics I have [treated] seem to do better, as well as having nicer body contours," said Dr. Jackson, who is president of the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery. [...]