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The good news about a duodenal switch procedure is that it was never developed originally as a weight loss surgery. For that matter the duodenal switch was originally developed as a remedy for patients whose esophagus and stomach continuously gets burnt by the intestinal bile. Its original inception was to reduce the amount of gastric bile released into the stomach which in turn was also found to cause malabsorption. This duodenal switch procedure would later be further developed into a weight loss procedure when it was included with a biliopancreatic diversion. The major differences between the standard weight loss surgery with a Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and the duodenal switch is that the patient’s pyloric valve which can be found at the lower end of the stomach is left intact and allowed to function.
This procedure is generally performed with the use of a laparoscope and due to its higher complexity as compared to the standard weight loss surgery it is uncommon to find a surgeon who is both capable and willing to perform this procedure.
In general the patient who undergoes a duodenal switch procedure will incur a drastic reduction of their usable gastric tract. This is because of the rerouting the surgeon performs during the duodenal switch that in effect shortens the length of the intestines. As a result the bile which is found in higher concentrations near the proximal part of the small intestines is drastically reduced.
For many weight loss surgeries one of the most important parts of the surgery is in fact malabsorption. While there are many weight loss programs such as the Lap-Band that does not include any malabsorption, these also have a lower success rate. The malabsorption or to make it more simplified the body’s inability to absorb nutrients is what ultimately helps with the rapid weight loss. Most patients will eventually build up the amount of food they can eat and in return they can ensure that they will eventually be able to supply themselves with the minimum nutrient requirements. Likewise they can also build up the amount of food they can eat which may also lead to a return in weight. |
