Question:
Help!! Distal, common channel, bypassing questions!

Okay, after reading about distal,proximal, and common channel, I called my surgeon to find out what he plans on doing to me. He says the small intestine is 12 feet long, but other posters have said it's much longer than that...? He says I'll be left with a 200 cm common channel - help! What are the implications of that? Doc says that amount of common channel will not cause much malabsorbtion, as BTC does not want this procedure to cause long term post-ops life-long malabsorbtion issues. I asked how big the pouch will be, and he said about the size of a thumb, about a couple of ounces. I'm going to have open RNY in the next 6-8 weeks, and really want to find out this information to be prepared. Also, can someone tell me exactly how the new pouch is separated from the stomach? Is it actually cut, or stapled off? The more I learn, the more questions I have! Thanks for all replies!    — vittycat (posted on January 21, 2003)

January 21, 2003
200 cm on the common channel is way too long. It will prevent you from losing weight as well. My surgeon goes 100 cm on the BPD/DS and is now recently going as low as 80 cm. Some surgeons go down to 50, but frankly I would have concerns about the malabsorbtion function at that size. The size of your pouch sounds accurate 1 to 2 oz. The pouch is stapled off from the stomach.The stomach continues to be a live organ, just does not function like it used to. I would raise a few quesions, after all, its your body.Good luck.
   — Leslie E.