Metabolic surgery in patients with diabesity: A review of the historical backgrounds and scoring systems

Diabesity is a modern term that describes the coexistence of adverse health effects of diabetes mellitus and obesity and indicates a causal pathophysiological relationship between the two phenomena. The progression of diabesity leads to a deterioration of multiple organs and systems. Effective intervention for patients with diabesity must include optimal obesity therapy to prevent secondary complications. Metabolic surgery is the most effective and sustainable therapy for severe obesity and the elimination or prevention of many associated diseases, including type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypertension, sleep apnea, heart disease, and certain cancers. This review provides an up-to-date overview of surgical interventions for obesity, particularly the development of metabolic surgery. It evaluates different scoring systems for evidence-based selection of metabolic surgery based on disease severity. We reviewed different predictive scoring systems for better evidence-based selection of the best metabolic surgery for patients with diabesity. We found that medication type, fasting insulin level, and C-peptide influence the outcomes of different types of metabolic surgery and heterogeneous remission rates. There are different predictive scoring systems for evidence-based selection of the best metabolic surgery, either sleeve or mini-bypass, that will ensure the highest chance of diabetes remission. Using the metabolic score calculator is a useful tool to help medical specialists determine the optimal treatment strategy for a particular patient. More research is needed before we can agree on the ideal bariatric procedure that offers the highest chance of remission with the lowest incidence of hypoglycemia.