DS/BPD - duodenalswitch

back to Obesitysurgery-info.com

The most powerful weight loss surgery available, the DS/BPD is a combination of a long limb intestinal bypass called a BPD (bileopancreatic diversion) with a specific type of stomach stapling called a "sleeve gastrectomy" which removes 75 - 90 percent of the stomach but leaves the structure in tact as far as the lower stomach valve.  Some DS patients can possibly digest vitamin B12.  However, one surgeon has told his patients to seek iron infusion right after surgery because in his experience, 50 percent of his DS patients required iron infusion later on.  Because the gall bladder often goes bad in this procedure, it is usually removed at the time of surgery to avoid later surgery for removal.  DS patients are expected to cannibalize muscle and bone tissue for a few months after surgery and if they do not, this can cause a bad type of malnutrition.  Scopinaro suggests testing patients to make sure they are obtaining protein from muscle and calcium from bone mass (see report below)