Long-Term Observation of a Man With Severe Obesity and Undiagnosed Monogenic Diabetes Serendipitously Treated With Metabolic Surgery

• Main Authors: Bhuvaneswari Pandian BSc, Mei Chung Moh PhD, Clara Tan MSc, Wanxin Lai BSc, Su Fen Ang PhD, Boon Khim Lim DN, Chun Hai Tan MBBS, FRCS, Chee Fang Sum MBBS, MRCP, Tavintharan Subramaniam MBBS, MRCP, MCI, Anton Cheng MBBS, FRACS, Su Chi Lim MBBS, MRCP, PhD
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: SAGE Publishing 2020-11-01
• Series: Journal of Investigative Medicine High Impact Case Reports
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1177/2324709620974871

A 43-year-old man, with severe obesity (43 kg/m 2 ) and diabetes (presumed as type 2 diabetes [T2D]), underwent vertical sleeve gastrectomy in 2009 and Roux-en-Y gastric bypass in 2013. Recently, whole exome sequencing (conducted to search for monogenic obesity) serendipitously revealed that the individual harbored a heterozygous glucokinase ( GCK ) variant p.(Arg422Leu) that was bioinformatically strongly predicted to be likely pathogenic. Therefore, he is likely to have concomitant maturity-onset diabetes of the young (MODY) type 2 ( GCK -MODY). A retrospective evaluation of the clinical data showed that the subject was diagnosed with T2D (given his severe obesity) in 2005 and was treated with oral antidiabetic monotherapy. His hyperglycemia was mostly mild (HbA1c [hemoglobin] < 8.1%), consistent with that of MODY2, despite severe obesity. After vertical sleeve gastrectomy, complete diabetes remission (HbA1c <6.0% and fasting plasma glucose <5.6 mmol/L without use of antidiabetic medication) was achieved. The percentage of maximum body weight loss attained after surgery was 23.6%. Euglycemia was maintained during the subsequent decade, up to the last follow-up in 2019, without any sign of hypoglycemia. In conclusion, we report a decade-long clinical experience of a man with severe obesity and diabetes likely due to the coexistence of GCK -MODY and T2D, serendipitously treated with metabolic surgery. Interestingly, metabolic surgery was effective and safe for him.