| Bariatric Surgery.info Transcend Gastric Stimulation System |
Surgical Procedure That Does Not Alter
Gastric Anatomy |
Trandscend Gastric Stimulation SystemIn a bariatric study presented to the North American Association for the Study of Obesity by researchers at Tufts-New England Medical Center, the Transcend Gastric Stimulation System - which does not alter gastrointestinal anatomy - was shown to be safe in 450 subjects worldwide through a series of individual studies. The Transcend Gastric Stimulation System uses an implantable electronic pulse generator to deliver electrical stimulation to the stomach, which reduces feelings of hunger. Transcend Gastric Stimulation ProcedureIn the bariatric study, two leads were implanted in the muscular wall of the stomach of 30 subjects, using a laparoscopic procedure that takes about one hour. The leads were connected to an electrical generator, not unlike a pacemaker, placed under the abdominal skin. The generators are activated two weeks after the surgery, and are set individually for each subject. No Health Complications ReportedNone of the subjects in this study reported any health complications. Eighty percent of the subjects lost weight after a follow-up of 8-9 months, with 60 percent of the subjects losing more than 10 percent of their excess weight. Alternative to Regular Stomach Surgery"We hope this procedure will provide severely obese people with a low-risk and effective alternative to traditional surgeries," said lead researcher Scott Shikora, MD, Chief of the Bariatric Surgical Division in the Department of Surgery at Tufts-New England Medical Center. Increasing Health Problems of ObesityThe study were presented as part of a joint effort by NAASO and the American Diabetes Association (ADA) to increase awareness of the rising problem of obesity and its related health problems in the United States. According to new data from the 1999-2000 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, published October 8, 2002 in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), obesity continued to increase dramatically during the late 1990s for Americans of all ages, with nearly one-third of all adults-almost 59 million people-now classified as obese. This data confirms a nearly two-fold increase in the number of obese Americans in the last two decades, and emphasizes the need for more aggressive approaches to obesity treatment and prevention. Obesity can significantly increase a person's risk for a number of serious conditions, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, and some types of cancer. ------------------------------------------------ Gastric Bypass Bariatric Information |