Duodenal Switch Surgery

If your healthcare provider believes you’re a good candidate for surgery, you’ll enter a screening process. This could involve:

• Standard medical testing to make sure you’re in good health
• Screening for alcohol, tobacco and drug use and therapy to help you quit, if necessary
• Psychological counseling to make sure you’re prepared for the big life changes that your new digestive system will bring
• Enrolling in a seminar so you understand the surgery

Once you’ve met these benchmarks and scheduled your surgery, your healthcare provider will put you on a preoperative eating plan for a couple of weeks. This typically consists of eating meals that are low in fat and carbohydrates and high in protein.

Duodenal switch surgery is a laparoscopic surgery. The laparoscopic method is less invasive and uses small incisions instead of making a larger incision in your abdomen.

You receive general anesthesia so you’re asleep for the entire procedure.

There are two surgical methods to the duodenal switch: the traditional duodenal switch (biliopancreatic diversion) and the SADI-S.

• The first step in both methods involves removing part of your stomach and shaping what’s left of it into a narrow sleeve.

The differences are in the second part of the surgery — the intestinal bypass. Both versions begin the bypass by dividing your small intestine near the top, in the section called the duodenum. Then, they bring a lower section of your small intestine up to attach to the top, bypassing the middle.

1. The original duodenal switch surgery bypasses most of your small intestine, making it significantly shorter.
2. The modified version bypasses a little more than half of your small intestine.

The surgery typically takes between two and four hours.

You’ll stay in the hospital for one to two days after surgery. It takes two to four weeks to make a full recovery. Your healthcare provider will give you instructions to follow during your recovery. This will include a list of what activities to avoid and what foods you can eat.

You’ll have frequent follow-up appointments with your healthcare provider in the first two years and periodic appointments for the rest of your life. The first two years will be your most dramatic weight-loss period. During this time, your provider will continuously monitor your progress and health.

Because there’s a risk of malnutrition, you’ll need to take nutritional supplements for the rest of your life. You’ll also need to give blood samples at regular intervals to make sure you’re getting enough nutrients.

Duodenal switch helps you lose weight and reduces your risk of serious obesity-related health problems. It can significantly improve your quality of life but requires that you make changes to your lifestyle.

Some more specific advantages are:

• Greatest overall weight loss results
• Most effective weight-loss procedure for people with Type 2 diabetes
• Allows for slightly larger meals when compared to other gastric bypass procedures
• Rarely causes dumping syndrome

One of the main disadvantages of the surgery is that it relies on malabsorption, which can help you lose weight. But it also requires you to follow a specific eating plan and take specific supplements to get the nutrition you need. You need to follow the eating plan to avoid loose bowel movements, as well.

Other risks may include:

• Infection
• Excessive bleeding
• Reactions to anesthesia
• Blood clots
• Hernias
• Small bowel obstruction
• Anastomotic leaks

Duodenal switch surgery is one of the most successful bariatric surgeries. It results in a higher BMI loss (decreasing your BMI) when compared to gastric bypass. The surgery has a similar success rate for treating obesity-related health conditions like Type 2 diabetes.