According to surgeons at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, they have successfully performed the first sleeve gastrectomy weight loss procedure through the mouth.
With sleeve gastrectomy, also known as the gastric sleeve, about 80 % of the stomach is sectioned off and permanently removed from the body. The smaller stomach leads to reduced caloric intake and increased feelings of fullness, helping severely obese patients lose weight.
Typically, the excess stomach is removed through an open incision in the abdomen. This is the first time that the excess stomach has been removed through the mouth.
The patient, 61-year-old Connie Harris Of Carlsbad, California, had surgery on August 3rd. She is now at home and recovering well.
The one-hour procedure involved a combination of laparoscopic and natural orifice translumenal endoscopic surgery (NOTES) techniques. The laparoscopic component required five small incisions in the abdomen. This allowed surgeons to insert the cameras and instruments for sectioning off the stomach into the abdomen and to safely close the stomach with staples. Then, an endoscope was used to reach the stomach through the mouth and pull out the divided portion of the stomach.
By applying NOTES methods and removing the stomach through the mouth rather than through a large open incision, it minimized trauma to the abdomen, reduced the risk of hernia, and greatly reduced pain for the patient.
The surgery was performed by Santiago Horgan, MD, Chief of Minimally Invasive Surgery and Director for the UCSD Center for the Treatment of Obesity. He has performed more than 100 NOTES procedures and took part in the first US multicenter clinical trial to compares NOTES to laparoscopy.
Dr. Horgan states “The number of options for minimally invasive weight loss surgery is rapidly evolving. Our goal is to offer patients a customized long-term solution for losing weight with as few scars as possible, and if desired, no medical devices.”
Source: UCSD Press Release
