Weight Loss Surgery: 5 Reasons Why You May Want to Consider the Duodenal Switch

If you're considering undergoing weight loss surgery, obviously you've struggled with your weight for quite a while, which is most likely significantly impacting your health. Like many others, you're looking for a permanent solution to your problem of morbid obesity, which is a great deal better than constantly going on diets, only to lose weight and then gain it back, if the diet is even successful in the first place. You've taken the first step to a healthier future, by deciding that weight loss surgery is right for you, but before deciding on a surgeon, you need to decide which surgery to have, since there are several choices available. For many bariatric patients, the gastric bypass, or RNY, is usually the surgery of choice. Despite the fact that the RNY is a popular choice among bariatric patients and their doctors, there may be another choice that could possibly be the best choice for you, considering your situation: the duodenal switch (DS). There are five reasons why you may want to choose the DS instead of the RNY, which are highlighted below.

High BMI - Although many people are very successful with the RNY and usually lose most of their excess weight, if not all, the DS has been proven to be a better choice for those with a body mass index of 50 and above. Body Mass Index, or BMI, is determined by measuring the body fat by adding the weight and height measurements. While a BMI of 40 and above is considered morbidly obese, a BMI above 50 is super morbidly obese, which often requires a more aggressive surgery, which the DS is.

Less chance of weight regain - Of course weight regain can occur after any type of bariatric surgery, but with the DS, you're able to eat larger amounts of food without the worry of regaining weight. You can't eat pizza and ice cream on a regular basis and expect not to regain weight, but you usually consume more calories with the DS without worrying than you could with the RNY. Since the DS works mostly through malabsorption of fat, you can eat higher amounts of high protein/high fat foods, yet with the RNY, you can only consume very little fat. So if you like eating steaks and salads with regular salad dressing, the DS maybe for you.

No dumping syndrome - With the RNY, the pyloric valve is damaged, which can cause "dumping" which includes several distressing symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, sweating, explosive diarrhea and dizziness. These symptoms often occur after eating high carbohydrate or high fat foods. People who have the DS don't have to worry about dumping, because with this surgery the pyloric valve is left intact.

Keep a "real" but smaller stomach - With the RNY, your "real" stomach is tied off, leaving you with a "pouch" for a stomach, while you're able to keep your original stomach with the DS, although it is reduced in size.

If you might require steroid therapy in the future - people who undergo the RNY are unable to absorb certain medications, especially steroids. Of course no one ever knows when they might require steroids, but if you suffer from some type of autoimmune disease or autoimmune disease runs in your family, you may want to choose the DS instead of the RNY, just in case.

As with any weight loss surgery, there are some cons, such as the fact that the recovery time from a duodenal switch is longer because it's a more extensive surgery and the fact that it costs more than the gastric bypass. Another con of the DS is that since the surgery works by mostly malabsorption, you are required to supplement with many difference vitamins and minerals. Despite the cons related to the duodenal switch, many people agree that the positive aspects far outweigh the negatives when it comes to this surgery, so you may definitely want to look into this surgery.

References

Mayo Clinic dumping syndrome page - http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/dumping-syndrome/DS00715/DSECTION=causes

Mayo Clinic Gastric bypass information - http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/gastric-bypass/MY00825

Mayo Clinic bariatric surgery information - http://www.mayoclinic.org/bariatric-surgery/bariatric-procedures.html