Where to get the best DS facts.

I am supposed to speak at our support group tomorrow night (I guess that would actually be tonight since it's almost 1 a.m.) about the DS. I am the only one who has had this surgery...all others are either RNY or Band. Most have not even heard of the DS. Can any of you give me some sites that have good DS facts that I could use to tell about this wonderful surgery? Thanks Anissa

Of course, go to duodenalswitch.com, but here's something that will help illustrate the differences between the DS and RNY http://fathom.org/opalcat/wls-compare.html

Hi Anissa: I got some great information on DS from the National Institute of Health. Here is the link: http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1360120 This has some excellent and concise statistics in it. Good luck on your presentation! Julie in Michigan

www.drmarchesini.com Dr M has a lot of good information about the DS. Another good place to go is to PubMed and search on "duodenal switch". The Site Which Must Not Be Named has links there.

http://www.duodenalswitch.com/ http://www.duodenalswitch.com/surgeons/hess_brochure/hess_brochure.html

http://www.johnhustedmd.com/switch.htm LeaAnn

Well, this link is throwing in some gobbledygook after the "htm" when I click on it, and thus not working, but here's what it says: Duodenal Switch This procedure modestly restricts food intake while radically limiting the absorption of calories, especially the obesity causing calories from fat, complex carbohydrates, and starches. Approximately 3/4 of the stomach is removed, but the natural outlet of the stomach, the pylorus, is left in, allowing the stomach pouch to function more naturally. As the stomach pouch stretches out in the first year after surgery, patients are moderately limited in the amount of food they can eat, reduced to about 2/3 of what they could eat before surgery. However, patients are not limited in the types of food they are able to eat, tolerating meats and whole vegetables without difficulty. The food is rerouted through a radically altered intestine, limiting the amount of food that is absorbed, which is what results in weight loss, despite the patient eating freely. The intestine is essentially reduced to less than half of its length and the digestive juices (the biliopancreatic secretions) mix with the food at only the last 10% of the intestine. This arrangement means that not only are the total amount of calories eaten not absorbed, but especially fats, complex carbohydrates, and starches - the things that contribute to obesity. Patients undergoing duodenal switch eat normally and have bowel ha*****anges characterized by frequent (2-4 per day) soft stools and a propensity for gas. Both of which are generally malodorous unless a stool deodorant (such as Devrom) is taken. ------------------- HTH! (I think you should just READ this to your crowd. ) LeaAnn

LeaAnn, thanks for posting this. I saved it. When people ask me about the DS I get tongue-tied in explaining the switch. These couple of paragraphs are concise and informative. Great! Linda