If you are considering weight loss surgery, you have likely heard of the duodenal switch bariatric surgery in Northern Virginia. This surgery was designed to treat people with severe obesity. It is the most effective bariatric surgery.
What is Duodenal Switch Bariatric Surgery?
This procedure is a weight loss operation that combines sleeve gastrectomy with an intestinal bypass. So, it modifies your stomach and your small intestine. This is a two-part surgery.
First, the gastrectomy portion removes a part of your stomach. This restricts the amount of food your stomach can hold. The other part, an intestinal bypass, makes the path your food takes through the intestine shorter. This restricts how much nutrition your small intestine can absorb from your food. It reduces hunger hormones as well.
Who Needs Duodenal Switch Surgery?
This procedure is typically recommended for severe obesity, which means you’re at a high risk of or are already experiencing obesity related diseases. This includes high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and high blood sugar. These are precursors to heart disease, diabetes, kidney disease and more.
Gastric Bypass vs. Duodenal Switch
Duodenal switch is similar to the gastric bypass. Both involve reducing the stomach and bypassing a portion of the small intestine. In general, duodenal switch leans more on malabsorption. On the other hand, gastric bypass leans more restriction.
The duodenal switch reduces the size of the stomach by about 60-70% while gastric bypass reduces it around 70-80%. Furthermore, while duodenal switch bypasses 75% of the small intestine, gastric bypass only bypass about 30%.
How Much Weight Can I Lose with Duodenal Switch Surgery?
Patients can lose an average of 80% of their excess weight within two years. That’s well above the average weight loss from bariatric surgery overall, which is between 50-60%. Additionally, people who get duodenal switch surgery maintain more weight loss long term compared to other surgeries.
Duodenal Switch Bariatric Surgery in Northern Virginia
Duodenal switch surgery is a highly effective intervention for serious obesity. It makes significant changes to the digestive system, but it results in dramatic weight loss. If you are ready to learn more about Duodenal Switch surgery and find out if its right for you, please contact Maryland Bariatrics.
