Life for 52-year-old LPG deliveryman from Mathura, Vrajendra Singh, was nothing less than an ordeal till some time back. With his blood sugar levels going uncontrollably high and his eyes and kidney being affected, his condition was continuously deteriorating. He could, in fact, barely walk a kilometer.

However, Singh heaved a sigh of relief after he was operated for type II diabetes in Mumbai last month. Performed for the first time in Asia, the ileal interposition surgery helps eliminate the need for medication and also helps in secretion of insulin faster. An elated Singh said, “I can now easily walk more than two kilometers a day. I feel better and have resumed work.”  

Dr Ramen Goel, Laparoscopy and Bariatric surgeon, Bombay Hospital said, “Presently two other centers including Bombay hospital in Mumbai and Mt Sinai Medical Center in New York have started performing this surgery. It took over six months to finalise the team and acquire necessary approvals from Indian Council of Medical Research before we could perform the surgery here.”

The procedure costs between Rs two lakh and Rs three lakh. “Primary advantage of the surgery is that GLP - 1 (insulin) is secreted in response to food stimulus. Also, evidence shows that the surgery helps in increase of insulin secretion,” said Dr Goel. and also in beta cell.