D v Pr

[Guest guest]

Okay, I've heard so many talk about being proximal or distal (sorry about the

spelling). I do not understand and thought while at the nutritionist the other

day I could find out the answer. One, she had a replacement person working so I

just received the basis weight / bmi check with a glance over my food diary.

She did let me look over the surgical procedures. In the paperwork it said I

was 25 proximal and 75 distal.... what is that? Sorry for my ignorance but in

the beginning it didn't seem important to me. Now I'm wondering?

Thank you for attempting to explain this to me... and yes I've looked at the

sites with this information on it but it still doesn't make sense to me.

Sorry.... help me understand....

Thank you again,

Betty

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

I don't suffer from insanity....

I enjoy every minute of it.

[Guest guest]

At some point beyond the useless part of your stomach, the small

intestine is cut, and the far end of the cut is joined (anastomosed)

to the slit in your pouch. The closer that the cut is to your

stomach (proximal), the longer the amount of intestine for the food

to pass through after it leaves your pouch, and, therefore, the

greater the percentage of absorption of that partially digested food.

The further the cut is from the stomach (medial or distal), the

shorter the amount of intestine that food passes through from you

pouch, and, therefore, the less food is absorbed.

OK, we haven't mentioned the near end of the cut in the intestine.

That is joined (anastomosed) to the other piece of intestine, further

down, toward the colon. It forms a " Y " junction (thus the " Roux en

Y " named after Dr. Roux from France who pioneered the technique).

The length of intestine that is still connected to your stomach also

carries bile from the gall bladder/liver. Once it joins the

food-bearing limb of the intestine, the bile mixes with the partially

digested food and renders the fats available for absorption by the

body. In the DS, we call the remainder of that piece of intestine

the " common channel. " The longer the common channel, the more fat

that it absorbed.

I have never heard of measurements stated as " 25 proximal and 75

distal, " but I'd guess that the first number (25) might be how many

inches (probably not centimeters) from the stomach the first cut was

made, and the second number (75) how many inches from the end of the

small intestine the Y-junction was made to form the common channel.

But these are all guesses on my part. It could also be that the 75

is the distance from the pouch at which the Y-junction is made, in

which case, you would absorb a lot more fat than in my first guess.

Hope this helped more than it confused,

Steve

At 10:06 AM -0700 10/19/02, Betty wrote:

>Okay, I've heard so many talk about being proximal or distal (sorry

>about the spelling). I do not understand and thought while at the

>nutritionist the other day I could find out the answer. One, she

>had a replacement person working so I just received the basis weight

>/ bmi check with a glance over my food diary. She did let me look

>over the surgical procedures. In the paperwork it said I was 25

>proximal and 75 distal.... what is that? Sorry for my ignorance but

>in the beginning it didn't seem important to me. Now I'm wondering?

--

Steve Goldstein, age 62

Lap BPD/DS on May 2, 2001

Dr. Elariny, INOVA Fairfax Hospital, Virginia

Starting (05/02/01) BMI = 51

BMI on 08/04/02 = 35 (-105 lb.)

LBL (PS) on 08/09/02 with Dr. Matini, Mt. Vernon Hospital.

BMI on 08/31/02 = 33 (-125 lb.)

It took me 50 weeks to reach the Century Club: S-L-I-D-E!!!