Less Commonly Used Obesity Surgery Tied to More Weight Loss

By Alan Mozes
HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, Feb. 5, 2015 (HealthDay News) — A less-popular type of weight loss surgery might actually lead to more weight loss than gastric bypass — the currently favored form of obesity surgery. But, the trade-off seems to be more complications, new research suggests.

A small comparative analysis found that a procedure called biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch (or simply “duodenal switch”) seems to lead to greater weight loss than traditional gastric bypass surgery. In addition, duodenal switch patients had a bigger drop in cholesterol, triglycerides and blood sugar levels.

“Five years after surgery, the average reductions in weight were 41 kilograms [90 pounds] after gastric bypass and 66 kilograms [145 pounds] after duodenal switch,” said study co-author Dr. Torsten Olbers, an assistant professor of surgery at Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Gothenburg, Sweden.

But “patients who underwent duodenal switch also had more subsequent surgical procedures related…