
London Bridge Hospital Metabolic and Bariatric Centre

The latest surgical treatment for both type 2 diabetes and weight loss
Appointments & enquiries
020 7234 2291
Emblem House
27 Tooley Street
London SE1 2PR
Payment options available: This facility offers treatments at a fixed price
Introducing metabolic and bariatric surgery
London Bridge Hospital provides both bariatric and metabolic surgery and related diabetes services. We are proud to host Professor Francesco Rubino - a pioneer in metabolic surgery for type 2 diabetes (T2D) and a bariatric surgeon - along with a wider team experienced in the treatment of diabetes and obesity, and specialising in endocrinology, hepatology and dietetics.
Located at London Bridge Hospital, patients have access to world-leading surgeons supported by the highly specialised teams necessary in the treatment of T2D and weight loss. This comprehensive service within these specialist areas include thorough investigation of conditions, monitoring of diabetes, surgery, and regular follow ups. Below we explain metabolic surgery for T2D.

London Bridge Hospital is truly visionary, as the first private hospital in the country to create a multidisciplinary approach to treating diabetes surgically.
Professor Francesco Rubino , Consultant Bariatric and Metabolic Surgeon
World-renowned specialists in the surgical treatment of type 2 diabetes
For patients living with T2D and obesity, we offer an alternative to long-term medication – metabolic surgery. This surgery represents a major advance in the treatment of the disease. In appropriate patients this surgery can induce powerful and sustained clinical benefits, even to the point of disease remission.
Decades of research – much of it led by Professor Rubino – have shown the drastically improved outcomes for patients living with T2D. Rather than manage the effects of the illness with lifestyle changes and medication, minimally invasive surgery is now a recommended standard treatment for the underlying metabolic disease – both internationally and in the UK, within NICE guidelines.

The results for metabolic surgery are more powerful than those of any other existing therapies:
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In many patients, blood sugar levels return to normal within weeks of surgery
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50% of patients enjoy long term remission of T2D (normalisation of sugar levels and no on-going pharmacologic therapy)
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80 to 90% of surgical patients see dramatic improvement in glycaemic control
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Evidence of remission is currently more than 10 years
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Reduction in cardiovascular risk, stroke, kidney disease and other T2D comorbidities follow
Meet the T2D and metabolic surgery team
Professor Francesco Rubino is internationally recognised as a world leader in metabolic, diabetic and bariatric surgery. His research was the first to uncover the antidiabetic side effects of weight loss surgery – revolutionising our understanding of the diagnosis and management of diabetes.
Alongside a multidisciplinary team of diabetologists, dietitians, endocrinologists, T2D clinical nurse specialists and fellow surgeons, Prof Rubino oversees metabolic treatment for diabetes at London Bridge Hospital.
The multidisciplinary team

Professor Francesco Rubino
Consultant Bariatric and Metabolic Surgeon

Mr Spyros Panagiotopoulos
Consultant Bariatric and Metabolic Surgeon

Ms Kate Waller
Senior Specialist Dietitian in Obesity and Bariatrics
The origins of surgery as a treatment for T2D diabetes
Since 1999, Professor Francesco Rubino has been working to treat metabolic dysfunction surgically, by altering the part of the stomach that releases hormones after eating. This has since become the basis of metabolic surgery.
Prof Rubino and his colleagues observed that, in cases of T2D and obesity, the hormones released by the stomach after eating can become overstimulated. This is part of what causes the metabolism to establish and maintain an incorrect body weight and produce unhealthy levels of the hormone that regulates blood sugar levels.
If existing bariatric procedures on the part of the stomach that produced these hormones could be used, Prof Rubino theorised that metabolic function could be improved – or even returned to normal. And the procedure itself would be minimally invasive, treating the underlying cause of T2D through an incision no wider than the diameter of a pencil.

Evidence-based medicine
Clinical trials have proven that metabolic surgery is able to treat T2D more effectively than medication and lifestyle management, and for longer. Metabolic surgery is now endorsed by over 50 medical institutions across the world, as an effective treatment for T2D.
Professor Rubino, Consultant Bariatric and Metabolic Surgeon
Minimally invasive surgery to reprogramme the metabolism
Metabolic surgery is a keyhole procedure to reduce the surface of the gastrointestinal tract. This removes or reduces the hormones that are affecting normal metabolic function – helping the body to better regulate hunger, satiety, and hormone production.
There are four accepted surgical approaches for the treatment of T2D: Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass, Sleeve Gastrectomy, Biliopancreatic Diversion and Laparoscopic Adjustable Gastric Banding. Two of the four surgical procedures, most often recommended, restore some or all normal metabolic function without affecting the patient’s typical digestive system, seen below.

Most common approaches to metabolic surgery
Roux-en-Y gastric bypass
Sleeve gastrectomy
Tailoring treatment and care to each patient
We’ve seen how metabolic surgery can change the lives of patients living with obesity and T2D. But we know it’s not the answer for every patient. For instance, lifestyle management and medication are still recommended for non-obese patients, and for mildly obese patients who are able to comfortably manage their glycaemia this way. Because of this, we assess every patient referred to London Bridge Hospital on a case-by-case basis. Our team of specialists work together to understand the nature of each individual case, and to choose the most appropriate treatment. All patients are supported by our diabetic clinical nurse specialist. Diabetes treatment is also offered across our wider HCA UK network including The Harley Street Clinic, The Wellington Hospital, The Princess Grace Hospital, The Lister Hospital and The Portland Hospital.

Vassoodeo Kunhya
Diabetes Clinical Nurse Specialist

Health Fact vs Fiction Diabetes explained | Podcast
News from the Metabolic and Bariatric Centre
Prof Francesco Rubino transformed Jenni Murray’s life after decades of failing to lose weight.
The Woman’s Hour presenter and broadcaster Jenni Murray discusses fat-shaming, body positivity and what happened when she met metabolic and bariatric surgeon Prof Francesco Rubino.
Read the Guardian article on Jenni Murray’s metabolic surgery
Read the Mail article on Jenni Murray’s weight loss solution
Our location
Emblem House
27 Tooley Street
London SE1 2PR
Contact us
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