Transposition

The operation moves the ileum closer to the pancreas, the organ that makes the insulin we need to process sugar into energy. A digestive hormone in the transposed intestine stimulates the pancreas to secrete more insulin, so diabetics don't need to take it artificially. Ileum transposition also corrects insulin resistance in Type 2 diabetics, according to Erik Wilson, who performs bariatric surgery at the University of Texas Houston.

Gastric surgeons at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston are recruiting normal-weight or thin diabetic patients for a study of a surgical procedure called ileal transposition.