A new form of weight loss surgery is currently undergoing trials at UC San Diego Health System. This newest type of surgery need not be permanent, nor does it require any kind of band or implant.
Unlike many patients who want bariatric surgery, the person having this kind of surgery is not required to be one hundred pounds overweight or more. Patients with as little as thirty extra pounds may qualify.
This surgery is called gastric plication and is not invasive -- meaning it's done laproscopically, with small incisions made through the stomach rather than having to open up the patient and close them when finished.
The procedure takes about an hour and is sometimes referred to as "origami" surgery because unlike other bariatric surgeries, the majority of the stomach is not cut off from the rest of the digestive system but is made into folds that can later be unfolded if necessary.
Patients can expect to lose a couple of pounds every week as a result and recovery time is short -- about one week and again, unlike traditional weight loss surgeries, they are not placed on the very restrictive diets commonly advised.
One of the leaders in the clinical trials of this gastric plication, Dr. Santiago Horgan, Director of the UC San Diego Bariatric Metabolic Institute, UC said that the surgery does more than help a person drop weight.
It can also prevent or result in the reduction of risks like heart disease, diabetes and depression. Once patients recover from surgery, they are expected to incorporate a healthy diet and exercise regime into their lives.
There is no word as yet as to when this surgery will be widely available.
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Stomach Origami - New Weight Loss Surgery. Medical News Today.Article Date: 14 Mar 2012.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/242846.php
Reviewed March 14, 2012
by Michele Blacksberg RN
Edited by Jody Smith