What You Need to Know about Duodenal Switch Surgery (loop DS, SADI, SIPS)
Duodenal switch surgery (DS) is a type of weight-loss surgery that combines both restrictive and malabsorptive elements to maximise results. This procedure helps patients lose weight by reducing the amount of food they can eat and reducing the amount of food the body can absorb.
During DS surgery, the outer curvature of the stomach is removed, and the remaining stomach is formed into a thin sleeve (this is also known as a vertical sleeve gastrectomy). Then, parts of the small intestine are rerouted to create separate pathways leading from the duodenum to the small intestines, reducing the number of calories the patient’s body can absorb.
Duodenal switch surgery has several differences to other procedures. For instance:
- Similar to a Sleeve gastrectomy the likelihood of disturbing “dumping” (low blood sugar levels after liquid sweets) is less likely compared to a gastric.
- With the additional malabsorbtive component it has a better long term weight loss compared to people who have the sleeve gastrectomy only
- It has a good success rate, with many patients losing the bulk of their excess weight within the first year to 18 months.
- The risk of gastric ulcers are lower compared to a gastric bypass but after DS patients may have a higher chance of heartburn.
- DS is a very successful operation in regards to long term weight loss and reducing the risks of other health concerns but the regular intake of multivitamins and blood tests to check for any deficiencies is recommended as after all weight loss operations.
This surgery is for patients who are extremely overweight or with severe type 2 diabetes.