Boston Hospital Using ‘Pacemaker’ To Fight Obesity

http://media.boston.cbslocal.com/CBSBOS_2105201517175200000AA.mp4 BOSTON (CBS) – If you think about weight loss surgery, there are three main options: Gastric Bypass, the Lap Band, and the Gastric Sleeve. But there haven’t been any other weight loss procedures approved by the FDA for over ten years, that is, until now. Back in January the government agency approved a new device that’s less complicated, safe, and effective. “Most all of my life I have been overweight.” Mike Magnant from Carver loves to spend time on the tugboat he built, but the extra pounds he carried around took a toll. “High blood pressure, high cholesterol, pains in my legs and pains in my knees,” Mike explains. “I couldn’t do the things I wanted to do.” He tried a slew of diets but every time, he regained the weight and then some. At a max of 291 pounds, he knew he had to do something drastic. So Mike enrolled in a clinical trial at Tufts Medical Center studying a new minimally invasive weight loss system called vBloc Therapy by EnteroMedics. Like a pacemaker, the device is inserted under the skin and electrodes are fed into the abdomen and secured around the vagus nerve which controls hunger. Dr. Sajani Shah, a surgeon at Tufts Medical Center who specializes in weight loss surgery, explains, “It blocks the nerve to the brain and basically tells patients that they’re less hungry and they get satiated for longer periods of time.” About three yea...
Source: WBZ-TV - Breaking News, Weather and Sports for Boston, Worcester and New Hampshire - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Health Local News Seen On WBZ-TV Syndicated Local Watch Listen Diet Dr. Mallika Marshall Tufts Medical Center vBloc Therapy Weight Loss Source Type: news