Question:
My doctor said he bypassed approximately 4 feet of my intestines.

Is 4 feet a proximal or a distal?    — Lisa F. (posted on August 24, 2000)

August 24, 2000
That sounds like a distal, or further away than a proximal. The usual measurement is from 75-150cm away (75 would be proximal, 150 distal) and 4 feet equals 120 cm.
   — Donna G.

August 24, 2000
I was told that a proximal is from 50 -150cm of bypassed intestines and that distal was anything over 150cm. I am not sure how many 4 feet is, but I am sure you can figure it out!!
   — [Anonymous]

August 24, 2000
It depends on the doc's terminolgy. I have more like 18 FEET bypassed, so defintely distal. My doc refers to a 10 ft bypass as proximal. BUT a doc who usually only bypasses 12-18" might call that proximal and anything beyond 3 ft distal. So....? As long as you're getting your labs on schedule, you could follow distal guidelines and always cut BACK on supplementation if your labs are way too high.
   — vitalady