Friday, October 17, 2014

Duodenal Switch Surgery In Mexico

By Jocelyn Davidson


The duodenal switch surgery is a combination of mal absorptive and restrictive surgery for weight loss. It decreases the quantity of food that one can take and the quantity of calories which get absorbed and utilized by the body. With this surgical procedure, there is creation of a stomach pouch that is moderately sized, plus some part of the ileum is bypassed. For people that are considering duodenal switch surgery in Mexico, it is important to understand what is involved.

It can either be performed in a surgical center or hospital and general anesthesia is used. Half-inch long incisions are made in several areas of the stomach as well as the middle of the abdomen. As a result, the stomach is left attached to the first small intestine segment. This segment is known as the duodenum. There is then separation of the duodenum from remaining sections of the ileum.

The duodenum then gets attached to the last segment of the small intestine. The second and third sections of the small intestine are bypassed. Thereafter, the surgeon has to confirm that there are no leakages prior to removing the instruments used for the procedure. This is then followed by closure of the incisions. There are many ways of closing the incisions but the most common is the use of absorbable sutures or sterile tapes.

The results of duodenal switching are excellent. Patients will be able to lose 70 to 80 percent of the excess weight within a period of two years. On the downside, patients are likely to contract nutritional deficiency diseases than would be the case if they used other weight loss surgeries. As a result, they will have to keep using nutritional supplements for their entire life. These supplements include vitamins and minerals.

For the long term, people that opt for this type of surgery will have lasting outcome. Because the body is not able to absorb all the ingested food, lifestyle changes are not a necessity as is the case with other bariatric surgeries. In addition to that, the patient will be able to eater larger food portions than they would with other types of restrictive surgery. This results in greater satisfaction in patients.

The benefits of the procedure are many. In addition to the main benefit which is weight loss, patients will have better eating quality due to a more normal stomach. Since the stomach portion with the hunger stimulating hormone is removed, appetite and hunger are reduced. Persons that take anti-inflammatory drugs will have no fear of contracting ulcers. In the event of mal absorptive complications, the intestinal bypass can be partially reversed.

On the downside, patients will have increased probability of suffering from chronic diarrhea, very smelly stools and gas. When the mal-absorption is significant, one may suffer from anemia, protein deficiency and metabolic bone disease. These conditions affect about 15 percent of patients. When taken in excess, carbohydrates could lead to one suffering from abdominal pain or long term regain of weight.

Being a surgical procedure, there are some expected complications. Some of them are post-operative nausea, duodenal leak, fistula and small bowel obstruction. The complications are however not common especially when the procedure is done professionally.




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