Exploring Weight Loss Surgery: Duodenal Switch vs. Gastric Bypass
Excess weight can diminish a person’s confidence and compromise quality of life. Individuals who are obese may struggle with physical limitations and discomfort. This degree of excess weight is nearly impossible to lose through diet and exercise alone. Weight loss surgery helps people take control of their health and life.
Tijuana Bariatrics offers multiple weight loss surgery techniques. One of the most popular procedures at our Tijuana, Mexico, and Monterrey, Mexico, practices is gastric bypass, but duodenal switch may provide even more successful weight loss results. Our doctors help patients consider duodenal switch vs. gastric bypass, so that they can choose a treatment plan that best meets their unique needs and desires.
The Gastric Bypass Technique
Gastric bypass is one of the most well-known weight loss surgery techniques. During gastric bypass surgery, the stomach is divided into two sections: the upper pouch and the lower pouch. The smaller pouch is connected to the lower portion of the small intestine, and the small intestine is rerouted to connect to both pouches.
What is important to know is that this technique creates a smaller stomach pouch that restricts the amount of food that can be consumed, and makes people feel full faster. By limiting caloric intake, patients are able to lose a significant amount of weight in a fairly short amount of time.
The Duodenal Switch Technique
Duodenal switch is a highly effective weight loss technique. Duodenal switch essentially begins with a gastric sleeve procedure, and then takes things a step further by rearranging the small intestine. To start this procedure, the doctor removes a large portion of the stomach tissue and reshapes the stomach so it is a long tube-like shape. After tissues are removed, the patient’s stomach should be about 15 percent of its original size.
After the stomach is resized, the small intestine is rearranged. The intestine is rerouted so that food does not encounter bile or pancreatic juices until it reaches the colon. In more basic terms, duodenal switch surgery first reduces the size of the stomach so that less food can be consumed, and then reroutes the small intestine so that fewer calories are absorbed by the body. Because duodenal switch involves both restrictive and malabsorptive elements, it can produce even better weight loss results than most other surgical techniques.
Which Technique Is Right for Me?
There are many factors that are taken into consideration when determining the most appropriate weight loss technique for our patients. We obviously want surgery to be a success, but it is even more important that patients feel healthy and active after recovery is complete.
Although gastric bypass and duodenal switch are both safe and effective, they each carry a small degree of risk. A small number of gastric bypass patients may suffer from a complication called dump syndrome (which can cause nausea or vomiting), while duodenal switch patients are more likely to suffer from nutritional deficiencies.
Our doctors consider a patient’s current health, their weight loss goals, and the likelihood of surgical complications to determine which weight loss technique may be most appropriate.
Contact Tijuana Bariatrics
Weight loss surgery allows patients to shed excess pounds, enhance comfort and mobility, and improve overall health. To learn more about the weight loss surgeries offered at Tijuana Bariatrics, contact us.
