The reason for considering surgery is your long-term health. The main concern with having type II diabetes is not the effect your sugar level has on your health today, but that over the next 10-20 years you have a much higher risk of developing heart attacks, problems with your arteries, strokes, nerve problems, kidney problems and eye problems. We now know that having a operation for your diabetes will cut in half your chance of having most of these problems. Microvascular complications (eye, kidney and nerve problems) occur at half the rate in patients who have had surgery compared with those who haven't, and macrovascular complications (heart attacks, strokes and artery problems) occur at only 65% the rate in those who have had surgery compared with those who haven't.