The duodenal switch (DS) procedure, gastric reduction duodenal switch (GRDS), is a

weight loss surgery Bariatric surgery (or weight loss surgery) includes a variety of procedures performed on people who are obese. Long term weight loss through the standard of care procedures ( Roux en-Y bypass, sleeve gastrectomy, and biliopancreatic diversio ...

procedure that is composed of a restrictive and a malabsorptive aspect. The restrictive portion of the surgery involves removing approximately 70% of the

stomach The stomach is a muscular, hollow organ in the gastrointestinal tract of humans and many other animals, including several invertebrates. The stomach has a dilated structure and functions as a vital organ in the digestive system. The stomach i ...

(along the greater curvature) and most of the duodenum. The malabsorptive portion of the surgery reroutes a lengthy portion of the small intestine, creating two separate pathways and one common channel. The shorter of the two pathways, the digestive loop, takes food from the stomach to the common channel. The much longer pathway, the biliopancreatic loop, carries bile from the

liver The liver is a major organ only found in vertebrates which performs many essential biological functions such as detoxification of the organism, and the synthesis of proteins and biochemicals necessary for digestion and growth. In humans, it ...

to the common channel. The common channel is the portion of small intestine, usually 75-150 centimeters long, in which the contents of the digestive path mix with the bile from the biliopancreatic loop before emptying into the

large intestine The large intestine, also known as the large bowel, is the last part of the gastrointestinal tract and of the digestive system in tetrapods. Water is absorbed here and the remaining waste material is stored in the rectum as feces before bein ...

. The objective of this arrangement is to reduce the amount of time the body has to capture

calories The calorie is a unit of energy. For historical reasons, two main definitions of "calorie" are in wide use. The large calorie, food calorie, or kilogram calorie was originally defined as the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of o ...

from food in the small intestine and to selectively limit the absorption of

fat In nutrition, biology, and chemistry, fat usually means any ester of fatty acids, or a mixture of such compounds, most commonly those that occur in living beings or in food. The term often refers specifically to triglycerides (triple est ...

. As a result, following surgery, these patients absorb only approximately 20% of the fat they consume.

Comparison to other surgeries

Advantages

The primary advantage of duodenal switch (DS) surgery is that its combination of moderate intake restriction with substantial calorie malabsorption results in a higher percentage of excess weight loss versus a purely restrictive gastric bypass for all individuals In a Systemic Meta Analysis of the weight loss surgical procedures Buckwald et al. Type 2 diabetics have had a 98% "cure" (i.e. became euglycemic) almost immediately following surgery which is due to the metabolic effect from the intestine switch. The results are so favorable that some surgeons in Europe are performing the "switch" or intestinal surgery on non-obese patients for the benefits of curing the diabetes. Novel operations are geared toward the treatment of diabetes and not necessarily to induce weight loss. Among the most prominent of these operations are the duodenal-jejunal bypass and ileal transposition where duodenal switch is a part of the operation. The following observations were reported on the resolution of obesity related comorbidities following the duodenal switch: type 2 diabetes 99%, hyperlipidemia 99%, sleep apnea 92%, and hypertension 83%. Because the pyloric valve between the stomach and small intestine is preserved, people who have undergone the DS do not experience the

dumping syndrome Dumping syndrome occurs when food, especially sugar, moves too quickly from the stomach to the duodenum—the first part of the small intestine—in the upper gastrointestinal (GI) tract. This condition is also called rapid gastric emptying. It i ...

common with people who've undergone the

Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery Gastric bypass surgery refers to a technique in which the stomach is divided into a small upper pouch and a much larger lower "remnant" pouch and then the small intestine is rearranged to connect to both. Surgeons have developed several diff ...

(RNY). Much of the production of the hunger hormone,

ghrelin Ghrelin (; or lenomorelin, INN) is a hormone produced by enteroendocrine cells of the gastrointestinal tract, especially the stomach, and is often called a "hunger hormone" because it increases the drive to eat. Blood levels of ghrelin are hi ...

, is removed with the greater curvature of the stomach. The summarized data can be found on a poster
comparative poster
Diet following the DS is more normal and better tolerated than with other surgeries. The malabsorptive component of the DS is fully reversible as no small intestine is actually removed, only re-routed.

Disadvantages

The malabsorptive element of the DS requires that those who undergo the procedure take

vitamin A vitamin is an organic molecule (or a set of molecules closely related chemically, i.e. vitamers) that is an essential micronutrient that an organism needs in small quantities for the proper functioning of its metabolism. Essential nutrie ...

and

mineral In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid chemical compound with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. (2 ...

supplements above and beyond that of the normal population, as do patients having the RNY surgery. Commonly prescribed supplements include a daily multivitamin, calcium citrate, and the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K. Because

gallstones A gallstone is a stone formed within the gallbladder from precipitated bile components. The term cholelithiasis may refer to the presence of gallstones or to any disease caused by gallstones, and choledocholithiasis refers to the presence of mi ...

are a common complication of rapid weight loss following any type of weight loss surgery, some surgeons may remove the gall bladder as a preventative measure during the DS or the RNY. Others prefer to prescribe medication to reduce the risk of post-operative gallstones. Like RNY patients, DS patients require lifelong and extensive blood tests to check for deficiencies in life critical vitamins and minerals. Without proper follow up tests and lifetime supplementation RNY and DS patients can become ill. This follow-up care is non-optional and must continue for as long as the patient lives. DS patients also have a higher occurrence of smelly

flatus Flatulence, in humans, is the expulsion of gas from the intestines via the anus, commonly referred to as farting. "Flatus" is the medical word for gas generated in the stomach or bowels. A proportion of intestinal gas may be swallowed environm ...

and

diarrhea Diarrhea, also spelled diarrhoea, is the condition of having at least three loose, liquid, or watery bowel movements each day. It often lasts for a few days and can result in dehydration due to fluid loss. Signs of dehydration often begin w ...

, although both can usually be mitigated through diet, including avoiding simple carbohydrates. The restrictive portion of the DS is not reversible, since part of the stomach is removed. However, the stomach in all DS patients does expand over time, and while it will never reach the same size as the natural stomach in most patients, some stretching does occur.

Risks

All surgical procedures involve a degree of risk however this must be balanced against the significant risks associated with severe

obesity Obesity is a medical condition, sometimes considered a disease, in which excess body fat has accumulated to such an extent that it may negatively affect health. People are classified as obese when their body mass index (BMI)—a person's ...

. Some of the surgical risks or complications for this procedure are: perforation involving small bowel, duodenum, or stomach causing a leak, infection, abscess,

deep vein thrombosis Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is a type of venous thrombosis involving the formation of a blood clot in a deep vein, most commonly in the legs or pelvis. A minority of DVTs occur in the arms. Symptoms can include pain, swelling, redness, and enla ...

(blood clot), and pulmonary emboli (blood clot traveling to the lungs). Longer term risks include the possibility of vitamin and mineral deficiency,

hernia A hernia is the abnormal exit of tissue or an organ, such as the bowel, through the wall of the cavity in which it normally resides. Various types of hernias can occur, most commonly involving the abdomen, and specifically the groin. Groin herni ...

and bowel obstruction. There is little information as to the longer-term risks (greater than 15 years), as this procedure was very rarely performed prior to the year 2000. The traditional biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch (BPD-DS) led to persistent

malnutrition Malnutrition occurs when an organism gets too few or too many nutrients, resulting in health problems. Specifically, it is "a deficiency, excess, or imbalance of energy, protein and other nutrients" which adversely affects the body's tissues ...

in a subset of patients. However, the loop duodenal switch reduces this risk because it bypasses a smaller portion of the small intestine, but there is no long term information for the loop duodenal switch to fully and accurately compare. Malnutrition is an uncommon and preventable risk after duodenal switch.

Qualifications

The

National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health, commonly referred to as NIH (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in the late ...

state that for patients who meet the following guidelines, weight loss surgery may be an appropriate measure for permanent weight loss: * BMI of 40 or over * BMI of 35 or over with obesity-related illnesses such as: ** Diabetes mellitus type 2 **

Coronary heart disease Coronary artery disease (CAD), also called coronary heart disease (CHD), ischemic heart disease (IHD), myocardial ischemia, or simply heart disease, involves the reduction of blood flow to the heart muscle due to build-up of atherosclerotic pl ...

Sleep apnea Sleep apnea, also spelled sleep apnoea, is a sleep disorder in which pauses in breathing or periods of shallow breathing during sleep occur more often than normal. Each pause can last for a few seconds to a few minutes and they happen many tim ...

Osteoarthritis Osteoarthritis (OA) is a type of degenerative joint disease that results from breakdown of joint cartilage and underlying bone which affects 1 in 7 adults in the United States. It is believed to be the fourth leading cause of disability in the w ...

GERD Gerd or GERD may refer to: * Gerd (given name), a list of people with the given name or nickname * Gerd (moon), a moon of Saturn * Gerd Island, South Orkney Islands, Antarctica * Gastroesophageal reflux disease, a chronic symptom of mucosal damage ...

* An understanding of the operation and lifestyle changes necessary following the surgery.

Costs

Compared with the other three generally accepted bariatric surgery procedures (gastric bypass, gastric banding and gastric sleeve), duodenal switch surgery is the most expensive procedure to perform due to its more complicated nature and longer operating times. Because it is more complicated and is performed less often than the other common procedures (lower demand), it is also performed by a relatively small percentage of surgeons which further drives up the price due to lack of competition. Patients without insurance (also called "self-pay" patients by most bariatric practices) can expect to pay an average of about $27,000 in the United States, although this varies widely across states and clinics. For example, surgical practices in the least expensive state (New Jersey) average about $24,000 while practices in the most expensive state (Nebraska) charge about $32,500. This surgery is also performed by some surgeons in Mexico at a much lower cost than in the United States.

References

External links

Duodenal Switch vs Normal Anatomy comparison tool
{{DEFAULTSORT:Duodenal Switch Bariatrics Digestive system surgery sv:Sleeve gastrectomy