Duodenal switch

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The duodenal switch procedure is a form of biliopancreatic diversion which is often done as a obesity reduction surgery.

It has a restrictive portion and malabsorptive portion

  • restrictive portion: involves removal of approximately 70% of the stomach (along the greater curvature) and most of the duodenum.
  • malabsorptive portion: involving rerouting a lengthy portion of small bowel creating two separate pathways and one common channel. 

History and etymology

It is thought to have been by 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.