Question:
If I have a common channel of 120cm......

is that a distal or proximal. I've seen many answers of how many cm's are bypassed but not any that can answer my question regarding common channel. Thanks in advance!    — denisel (posted on March 12, 2003)

March 12, 2003
If it is 120cm common channel, that's distal. If it's 120cm bypassed, that's proximal.
   — vitalady

March 12, 2003
Hi- I heard it the other way around. According to my surgeon, a common channel of 120cm would be a proximal. I am getting a medial, which is 70cm of common channel. A distal would be the most severe - 40-50cm common channel. He does not measure with "xx cm bypassed". However - the message boards were covered a couple weeks ago with people saying 150cm bypassed is a distal. Sorry if I confused you!
   — toolio

March 12, 2003
What is the difference between common channel and bypassed? I assume that it is 2 different proceedures??
   — cherokey55

March 12, 2003
O.K. I'm totally going out on a limb here( LOL. no pun intended, really) and am going to say that I think amount of CM's bypassed means just what it says and the length of the common channel is what is left over. I'm guessing by the name that somehow two channels connect and the "common channel" is the connector. Something like that. Just a hypothesis and I think I can visualize much better than I can put it into words. I don't think that it is too different procedures just different method of measuring. Confused yet? Me too! :0)
   — denisel

March 12, 2003
Think of your "Y". Left side is attached to your old stomach, where the digestive juices go. Right side is attached to your pouch, where the food goes. Common channel is the tail, where they finally meet. I have 100cm common channel, about 40", and that is VERY distal. 120cm is only about 5 ft, so also very distal. At this length, we might have a little easier maintenance (but not a freebie), but we supplement quite heavily to cover the malabsorption.
   — vitalady

March 13, 2003
i'M BACK- I agree with the last poster - I had my inches and cm's mixed up. 40 (150 cm)inches is a distal with my surgeon, too.
   — toolio