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Treatment

Duodenal Switch

Duodenal Switch

Gravitas surgeons were the first in the UK to carry out this operation and have extensive experience in DS surgery and aftercare.

Even though the DS is technically more complex than the band and gastric bypass, it is still performed with keyhole surgery by our expert teams.

The DS shares some features in common with the gastric bypass, in that both operations rely on surgically separating food from the digestive juices, thereby preventing calorie absorption. The major difference is that the DS patient is left with a much shorter length of bowel with which to absorb their food. Most of the weight loss after a DS is thought to be due to reduced calorie absorption.

The great advantage of this approach is that excellent, reliable weight loss can be achieved without the need to reduce stomach (and thus portion) size dramatically. Part of the stomach is removed, rather than bypassed, which converts the upper two thirds of the stomach into a long thin tube. This creates a stomach pouch about 15 times larger than that after a band or gastric bypass.

Established DS patients can usually eat a fairly normal sized meal (unlike band and gastric bypass patients who are always limited to smaller portions). The larger stomach also prevents some of the problems associated with the gastric bypass such as dumping syndrome (fainting, cramps and diarrhoea after eating sweet foods) and the need for vitamin B12 injections.

Living with a Duodenal Switch

• Stomach 15 times larger than after band and gastric bypass.
• Portion size near-normal after 12 months.
• Mainly works by preventing calorie absorption.
• Much higher risk of serious nutritional problems unless great care taken with strict post-op diet.
• Lifetime commitment to high protein diet (100g/day) essential.
• Vitamin and mineral replacement much more crucial - at least 5 tablets a day required to avoid problems such as osteoporosis.
• Loose, foul-smelling stools if you eat a lot of fatty foods.
• Faster, more reliable and more effective weight loss than banding.
• International gold standard published results typically 0.5% mortality, 2% leak rate. 
• Gravitas rolling two year results: 0% mortality January 2008 to December 2009
• Not reversible.
• Keyhole surgery.
• 3 nights in hospital.
• You can have an active social life and enjoy your favourite restaurants
• You can still drink alcohol in moderation.