Question:
I would like to know the PHYSICAL DIFFERENCE between the BPD/DS and the BPD.

The information I have found here does not give a lot of detail. I have been reading about people who have had the BPD with no DS and am wondering if it is safer. If not, then why? Thanks, Annie    — annie W. (posted on July 31, 2003)

July 31, 2003
If I understand it right the BPD is the old surgery that had its problems. The BPD/DS is a combination of two surgeries, I've heard it referred to as a hybrid surgery. Combining it into the BPD/DS eliminated some of the problems making it a safer surgery while still offering superior weight loss & long term ability to keep it off. You should check out www.duodenalswitch.com. You'll find a lot of information there. Also check out the Hess Report (1998) as it has some very specific information in it on the process and a lot of stats. Keep in mind though that these people studied were some of the first ones done and their complication rates are pretty high. The surgeons were still developing their skills. Brave folks those 440 people in that study were. Also you might ask this specific question on the DeodenalSwitch group here on this board. I've not spent much time there but there are recent posts and some DS post ops who could answer some of your questions specific to that surgery.
   — Shelly S.

July 31, 2003
I had a BPD without the DS. The differences are how the stomach is cut, the DS is a banana cut while the BPD is a horizontal cut and reattching the intestine. Because the pyloric valve is still intact with the DS you don't dump. I wanted a DS but my doc does the BPD because he wants people to dump (I have no idea if I dump because I have not had any sugar in the last year). He has been doing WLS for over 20 years and until 3 years ago did the RNY but likes the longer term results of the BPD. Because I weighed 350-370 and had been morbidly obese for over 20 years and obese all my life, I wanted the malabsorbtive benefits of either BPD, DS or distal RNY. My only choice locally was the BPD. I'm a year out and down to 225 and very happy with my choice. Good luck.
   — Sunny S.

July 31, 2003
DSer here! Glad to see someone researching this wonderful WLS! Please join the discussion group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/duodenalswitch/ and ask as many questions as you like. There are also many files you can resesarch, much more info than AMOS. There are several advantages of DS over BPD. We still have a normal stomach, so that in itself makes life much easier (although the larger size of the BPD half-stomach in comparison to the RNY pouch makes a big difference in eating). DS is a very tricky procedure that requires even an experienced bariatric surgeon to get special training; that is the main reason relatively few have been doing it. The duodenum, the top part of the intestine leading out from the stomach, is very short, and the ducts from the liver and pancreas enter into it; it is also where calcium, iron, and B vitamins are absorbed, so preserving as much of it as possible is important. It is here that the "switch" takes place; the intestines are divided, food travels down one side and the digestive juices down the other, and then they are reconnected to form the common channel, where most of the nutrient and calorie absorption takes place. With all those ducts and organs so close together there is risk for damage in inexperienced hands. Anyhoo, do please research at duodenalswitch.com and Yahoo, select an experienced **DS** surgeon, and come on over to the switched side. You'll be glad you did!!
   — Chris T.