There are approximately 29 million people in the U.S. with Type 2 Diabetes —a lifelong disease that prevents the body from using insulin correctly. While there is currently no cure for the disease, losing weight, eating well and exercising can help to manage it.

The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, University Health and Texas Biomedical Research recently announced encouraging results following a minimally invasive procedure that dissolved abdominal fat in two Type 2 Diabetes patients. Doctors believe that removing the visceral fat will improve diabetes and slow down the arterial disease.

Before bringing the treatment to humans, doctors utilized the Southwest National Primate Research Center (SNPRC) at Texas Biomedical Research Institute as the site of the large-animal studies. As it turned out, all of the animals treated with mesenteric visceral lipectomy technique, or MVL, survived without any complications, and all had remission of Type 2 Diabetes.

During MVL, a surgeon makes a small abdominal incision and uses a device to dissolve the glycoproteins that hold the fat together and then suctions out the fat without disrupting the blood vessels or surrounding tissues.

“This is important because the fat in our abdomen contains numerous blood vessels,” Richard Peterson, MD, said. “This technique allows the fat to be removed surgically without significant bleeding. Once the fat is loose, it is suctioned out.”

Read more diabetes research from the National Primate Research Centers (NPRCs) here.