Bilio-pancreatic diversion (BPD) is a restrictive and malabsorptive procedure. Restriction is accomplished by surgically removing the lower stomach and creating a pouch that is 8-9 ounces in size. Malabsorption is accomplished through surgical bypass of a large portion of the small intestinal tract. The common channel is 50-100 cm long.
Bilio-pancreatic Diversion (BPD)
Bilio-pancreatic Diversion (BPD)...An Italian invention
The duodenal switch operation is derived from the Bilio-pancreatic diversion operation (B.P.D). This surgery was invented by an Italian Surgeon named Nicola Scopinaro. This surgery is, for all intents and purposes, a long-limb Roux en Y bypass operation.
Dr. Scopinaro combined a 65-percent gastrectomy with a long limb Roux en Y. This surgery worked fairly well and was considered to be the most drastic of all weight loss surgeries.
Bilio-pancreatic diversion...step-by-step
Compare BPD to the Roux en Y (RNY) bypass
The limbs of the Roux en Y bypass:
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A. The limb of the Roux en Y bypass that has food in it is called the “enteric” limb.
B. The limb that contains the digestive juices (bile and pancreatic juice) is called the bilio-pancreatic limb.
C. Where both limbs of the Roux meet—thus combining the digestive juices with the food—is called the “common” channel.
Other commonly used names
In the Roux en Y bypass, the enteric channel is also known as the “efferent” limb (think of enteric and efferent—two e’s, or you can think of food exiting—another e, (or you can think of the popular cable channel, but then you would be thinking like the author and would need to have papers to prove sanity). The limb of the Roux en Y with the digestive juices is known as the “afferent” limb.
The Common Channel of the RNY and Biliopancreatic Diversion
If you consider that the common channel in the Scopinaro’s operation was reduced to 50-100 cm, you can see that this was a drastic step compared with most common channels. In the proximal Roux en Y limb, the common channel is 500 cm. The difference accounts for why Scopinaro’s operation (known as the biliopancreatic diversion) was successful with weight loss.
Stomach restriction in the RNY and Biliopancreatic Diversion
All surgeries balance how weight loss is maintained. One component of "portion control" is also known as "restriction." Essentially, when the stomach is smaller, you cannot put in as many calories. In Scopinaro’s operation, the stomach held 40 percent of its original capacity, larger than the one-ounce restriction of the standard Roux en Y gastric bypass.
| Proximal RNY | Distal RNY | Duodenal Switch | Scopinaro's BPD | |
Stomach size | 30 cc | 30 cc | 120-180 cc | 250 cc |
| Common channel | 500 cm | 100-400cm | 100 cm | 50-100 cm |
| Common channel in inches | 200 inches | 40 to 160 inches | 40 inches | 20-40 inches |
| Biliopancreatic limb length in cm (not including duodenum) | 100 cm or less than 15% of the distance between the Ligament of Trietz and the colon | For some insurance purposes, anything longer than 100 cm bypassed is considered a distal bypass | 400 cm or about 60% of the distance between the ligament of Trietz and the colon | 400 cm or about 60% of the distance between the ligament of Trietz and the colon |
Bariatric surgeons have yet to determine the best relationship between the restrictive component of weight loss and the moderate "malabsorptive" component.
