New Non-Invasive Weight Loss Treatment Tested

New Non-Invasive Weight Loss Treatment Tested

A new,  non-invasive weight loss procedure that has already gained traction in the U.S. is now undergoing clinical trials in Canada. The procedure is called the endoluminal pouch reduction, more commonly known as StomaphyX, and it is ideally suited to patients who previously had bariatric surgery and later regained the weight.

During the procedure, doctors insert a microscopic camera and a flexible suction device into the patient’s stomach endoscopically, accessing the stomach through the patient’s mouth. Once inside, the doctors activate the suction device to create a series of pleats in the stomach tissue. These pleats are then fastened together into a circular band around the stomach, drawing its middle section inward in the same way a corset narrows the waistline.

Doctors in the U.S. have performed the surgery on a few hundred patients in the last year, but the new clinical trial represents the first time that Canadian doctors been trained on the StomaphyX procedure. The primary beneficiaries of the procedure will be gastric bypass patients who regain weight after surgery because they stretch out their stomach pouch. Re-stapling the stomach could cause leakage, bleeding, and other problems, but the endoluminal pouch reduction does not require any cutting, and is therefore much less risky for gastric bypass patients.