A global research academy on metabolic surgery will be soon set up in Hyderabad to raise awareness about diabetes surgery in Asia and also to craft an agenda for healthcare policies, a diabetes expert said on Friday.

With India presently home to 62 million diabetics, the number is expected to increase to over 80 million diabetics and most of these will be Type-2 diabetics by the year 2025, laparoscopic surgeon Surendra Ugale said.

Ugale, who has performed Ileal Interposition surgeries (small intestinal switch) on 250 patients worldwide said that the procedure is gaining ground in treating Type-2 diabetes. We need to create more awareness to prevent diabetes, he told reporters, announcing the setting up of a global research academy on metabolic surgery with an idea to improve access to surgery for eligible patients with diabetes.

The Ileal Interposition technique has helped reverse Type-2 diabetes in 95 per cent among the 250 patients, he claimed, adding that Surgery costs around Rs 4 lakh for each patient. We are ready to train government doctors who in turn could conduct surgeries free of cost for the masses. Ileal Interposition (small intestinal switch) is a procedure that utilises a segment of the small intestinal tract between the stomach and terminal ileum, shifts it into an upper area or puts it in line again.

This surgery results in a biochemical process that facilitates insulin secretion in the presence of undigested food and controls Type-2 diabetes, a metabolic disorder that is marked by failure to absorb sugar and starch due to lack of the insulin hormone, Ugale explained.

-PTI