Satiety's transoral TOGa stomach stapling procedure

Satiety, Inc. has finally found the funding it needs to push forward with a radical new approach to assisting the obese, as it has rounded up $30 million in financing from a number of venture capitalists who dug the idea. Essentially, the TOGa procedure is a "completely transoral process designed to achieve similar weight loss to restrictive surgeries," and it also claims to be less invasive, require less recovery time, and should create a "dramatically reduced amount of complications." In this system, the physician would "introduce a stapling device transorally and create a restrictive pouch at the entry of the stomach," and moreover, it's considered "non-surgical" in nature, endoscopic, and can be performed by properly trained bariatric surgeons, general endoscopic surgeons, and gastroenterologists. Currently, the firm is moving forward with plans to get the procedure approved by the FDA, and while there's no telling how long such a convoluted process will take, stomach stapling could see an entirely different approach in the years to come if this proves effective.

[Via CNET]

[strider_mt2k @ Jul 23rd 2007 6:51AM]

Treat the problem, not the symptoms.

You hear about people eating past these surgeries quite a bit because the real underlying problem isn't being addressed.

[mentalsticks @ Jul 23rd 2007 6:53AM]

How about less eating and more exercise?

[Mike @ Jul 23rd 2007 9:17AM]

Some counseling and a nutritionist would save more lives and cost less than this stupid procedure...way to go insurance companies!

[John Stracke @ Jul 23rd 2007 11:25AM]

I like how it's considered non-surgical, but you need a surgeon to do it.

[Mike @ Jul 23rd 2007 1:22PM]

The idea of Gastroenterologists and other doctors now possibly being able to do this 'surgery' just makes them technicians....leave the surgery to surgeons ONLY!

[jarofchris @ Jul 23rd 2007 6:37PM]

Stomach reduction procedures are only done on those who are morbidly obese, with a BMI of 45. At that point you can barely get out of bed, so forget about exercise. You can worry about that after the surgery.

But of course you are all correct to imply that less food and more exercise performed BEFORE one gets to that point would preclude the need for stomach reduction in the first place.

[Zelbinian @ Jul 24th 2007 1:57PM]

Absolutely nothing replaces a good diet (i.e., a diet you can feel comfortable eating for the rest of your life) and regular exercise. Nothing. Procedures like these may be useful for those whose weight problems are associated with conditions beyond their control, however.

[CDANK @ Jul 30th 2007 9:11AM]

good, i like alternatives to exercise