New Implantable Weight Loss Device is Up For Approval

By SheSpeaksTeam Jul 11, 2014

We’ve all heard about the success some patients have experienced with gastric bypass surgery to combat obesity. But there is now a new weight loss inducing surgery on the horizon that could help people reduce the amount of food they eat by sending signals that they are full.

CBS News reports about the implantable device called the Maestro Rechargeable System that could help those with severe obesity shed weight. How the implant works is it delivers electronic signals to the trunks of the vagus nerve, this is a cranial nerve that plays a big part in telling us when we’re hungry. The signals will suppress those feelings of hunger and make the individual feel fuller faster.

It may sound more like science fiction, but the system is powered by an internal battery that the patient can recharge with an external mobile charger once a week. Some of the reported side effects were heart burn, gastrointestinal symptoms, difficulty swallowing and nausea. About 5% of patients had the device removed before completing a trial.

Though the surgery and device has not yet been approved in the US, it has seen some success in Australia. A recent study also found that 57 percent of 239 patients lost at least 20% of their excess weight within one year after the surgery.

What do you think of the new weight loss surgery for the severely obese?

Do you think this device and procedure should be approved here in the US?

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Comments

by StacyRenee | COLORADO SPGS, CO

Sep 04, 2014

I think this is a great product and a better alternative to gastric bypass. I have several friends who have had gastric bypass, and suffer vitamin deficiencies, regain their weight (while still eating very little), lose their teeth due to malabsorption AND many are developing auto-immune disorders due to to the lack of acid in their new stomach, which develops into Leaky-gut syndrome causing inflammation through-out the body...and developing into 1 of 100 auto-immune disorders. Gastric bypass was supposed to give them a healthier and happier life, but after 5-10yrs their health starts going down-hill. -Holistic Health Coach, nutritionist , friend, and family of gastric bypass patients

by Kay3131 | New York, NY

Jul 11, 2014

Results of only 57% losing only 20% of the amount they need to lose - are not impressive enough for that timeframe. For the morbidly obese, I don't think anything is as life-changing as a Roux en Y gastric bypass.

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