Beginning Jan 1, 2010, a new weight loss procedure will be available to people who have 50 to 100 pounds to lose. Among the first in the world to try this new procedure were patients on the Northshore who participated in the trial.

Cindy Babylon of Carriere, Mississippi, could not lose weight on her own and got very close to 200 pounds. “I’d go on pills, lose a little weight, do the shots, everything – but it still wouldn’t stay off,” said Babylon, 5 feet 1 inches tall.

Another patient, Clyde Harper of Loranger, Louisiana, became a diabetic at 256 pounds on his almost 6 foot tall frame. “That’s my pride and joy, my family. I wanted to make a change. My kids are always out there doing something and I really hadn’t, I’d go out there but I’m not out there as long as I need to be or should be,” said Harper.

Babylon, 54, and Harper, 32, became two of the first 27 people in the world who qualified for a new weight loss procedure, which is unlike anything you’ve seen before. It’s called POSE, short for “Primary Obesity Surgery, Endoscopic.” It is bariatric surgery, but unlike gastric bypass or the gastric sleeve surgery, the stomach isn’t cut down to a smaller size. And unlike the LAP-BAND®, no ring is implanted around your stomach.

“You can now do an incisionless weight loss procedure that is painless, with essentially no complications, and you go back to work in a day and a half and you get the same results,” said Bariatric Surgeon Dr. Michael Thomas of the Surgical Specialists of Louisiana, who is the site investigator for the POSE surgery.

A new, special long, thin tube is used during the POSE procedure, which eliminates the cutting. While the patient is under anesthesia, doctors insert it into the mouth and down the esophagus into the stomach. Through the four openings at the end, a camera and series of special tools are threaded down the big tube. The tools grab and fold stomach tissue, and about a dozen places in the stomach are pinched together with mesh plugs, just like folds in the fabric. As in all restrictive bariatric procedures like the LAP-BAND®, the result is a smaller stomach that holds less food.

This procedure also seems to have a different mechanism at work. The part of the stomach that gets altered is very spongy and stretches easily, which seems to interrupt very powerful hormones that send hunger signals to the brain.

“The reason diets fail long term is hunger is a very strong force. These hunger hormones really affect you, nothing emotional about it, pure hormones,” said Bariatric Surgeon Dr. Tom Lavin of the Surgical Specialists of Louisiana.

Surgical Specialists of Louisiana in Covington was one of only a few sites in the country to test the POSE procedure. Of the first 27 patients in the world, doctors Thomas and Lavin performed 9 POSE procedures, more than any other site. And while there are no long-term studies or results, so far they find it very safe and effective. “We are hoping that we will find that the perioperative complications or whatever aspect, either short-term or-long term, are as safe as diet and exercise, maybe even safer,” Thomas said.

“Our patients had dramatically decreased hunger and capacity immediately after surgery and it is sustained at 9 months,” Lavin added. “So for us, that was what we wanted to hear.”

The results speak for themselves. In eight months, Cindy Babylon is down 36 pounds. In seven months, Clyde Harper is down 60 pounds and his diabetes is gone.

“I lost 15 pounds right away, and that was pretty normal. Then it just kept coming off because your stomach is smaller. You’re eating a third of what you are normally eating. You get full quicker. You eat less and you have that fullness and you really don’t have to eat as much as I used to eat like a pig,” Babylon said with a laugh. “It’s easier just to get up, go around motivated, easier to get motivated just to do anything,” said Harper.

During the trial, patients see a nutritionist for food counseling and know they must exercise. Babylon said her weight loss will lower the risk of her breast cancer returning and getting heart disease, which runs in her family. Harper never wants to be on diabetes medication again.

It has not been determined how much the POSE procedure will cost, but other bariatric surgeries run between $14,000 and $19,000. Patients need to be on vitamin supplements to make sure all the nutrients are absorbed into the system.

Source: WWL-TV.com. Doctors say weight loss procedure is painless, doesn’t leave marks. Available at: http://www.wwltv.com/home/Doctors-say-weight-loss-procedure-is-painless-doesnt-leave-marks-74118187.html. Accessed Dec 2, 2009