Surgery may be done to treat diabetes when other methods do not help. It may be needed for other problems diabetes can cause. The doctor may advise:
Transplants
A healthy donor pancreas can be transplanted into the body. The new organ will make insulin. A person will no longer need to inject it.
Kidney damage is a common problem in people with diabetes. For some it can lead to diabetic kidney failure. A kidney transplant may be needed to treat it.
Islet Cell Transplant
Islets are the cells in the pancreas that make insulin. This procedure takes healthy islet cells from a donor and injects them into a vein. The cells will make insulin. It will need to be done more than once. It can help a person manage their blood glucose. They may even be able to stop insulin injections.
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References
American Diabetes Association. Standards of medical care in diabetes—2019. Diabetes Care, 2019; 42 (Suppl 1): S1-193.
Diabetes mellitus type 1. EBSCO DynaMed website. Available at: https://www.dynamed.com/condition/diabetes-mellitus-type-1-34. Accessed May 5, 2022.
Type 1 diabetes. American Diabetes Association website. Available at: https://www.diabetes.org/diabetes/type-1. Accessed May 5, 2022.
Revision Information
- Reviewer: EBSCO Medical Review Board James P. Cornell, MD
- Review Date: 03/2022
- Update Date: 05/05/2022