Ignacio Osorio eats whatever he wants and no longer worries, because his severe and disabling type-2 Diabetes is gone.
I'm Diabetic free. No medications. I used to take 5 medications daily. So I don't take any at all.
His wife Adriana Osorio used to carry all her husband's Diabetes medicines in her purse. Not anymore.
Adriana Osorio: "For me to see him now, healthy and free of all these medicines, it's amazing."
Mr Osorio eats a healthy diet, but not a diabetic diet.
Ignacio Osorio: "I feel great. I feel 110% symptoms have all gone away."
"I would consider him disease free, cured."
Here's what happened.
In May, he had an experimental surgery where UT Health surgeons flipped his intestine. They took the ileum which is at the end of the small intestine, and moved it to the top, next to his stomach.
That causes the gut to produce “more” of GOP-1, an important hormone that regulates blood sugar.
Mr Osorio is the 2nd person in the U.S. to have this surgery.
Maria Alonso, who was first, is diabetes free too.
Dr Brad Synder: "If we have the results they did in Brazil, if we have 80% of type-2 Diabetics getting off their medications, we're going to affect millions of people in this country."
Christi Myers: “The downsides? The minimally invasive surgery was painful, but he was back at work in 5 days and insurance doesn't pay because it's experimental. It cost the Osorio family $13,000 for the surgery.
Adriana Osorio: "I would rather pay for that surgery and have my husband, than have to pay for a funeral."