Duodenal switch procedure

Last revised by Vikas Shah on 15 Oct 2024

The duodenal switch procedure is a form of biliopancreatic diversion, often done as a weight loss procedure.

It has restrictive and malabsorptive elements:

  • restrictive element: removal of approximately 70% of the stomach (along the greater curvature), similar to a sleeve gastrectomy

  • malabsorptive element: most of the small bowel is bypassed by creating an anastomosis between the distal small bowel and the proximal duodenum, with the resulting alimentary and biliopancreatic limbs meeting to form a common channel

History and etymology

It is thought to have been described by DeMeester and colleagues in 1987 as a surgical solution for primary bile reflux gastritis or to decrease the postgastrectomy symptoms seen in patients after distal gastrectomy and gastroduodenostomy.

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