A unique non-invasive weight loss procedure that uses a new device that reduces the size of a patient's stomach without the need for any incisions have been performed by a bariatric surgery team at Mercy Medical Center in Rockville Centre, New York.

StomaphyX™ has been performed on July 18 on five patients who underwent laparoscopic gastric bypass in 2003 and had been gaining back some weight because of gradual expansion of their gastric pouches.

Shawn Garber, MD (Chief of Bariatric Surgery at Mercy) is one of the first five surgeons in the United States to learn the StomaphyX™ procedure for endoluminal gastric pouch reduction in patients with previous gastric bypass surgery.

According to Dr. Garber, head of the New York Bariatric Group:

"This is an important new option for the 15 to 20 percent of patients who gain weight a few years after undergoing bariatric surgery. Because it involves neither abdominal nor internal incisions, this technique is the least invasive, has the lowest risk, and allows patients to recover more quickly and return to their normal activities.
This dramatic advance is the future of bariatric surgery.

The endoluminal technique introduces the instrument that reduces the size of the stomach through the mouth, reducing the risk of infection from surgical incisions, preserving future treatment options, nearly eliminating pain for the patient, and requiring less recovery time than open or even minimally-invasive laparoscopic procedures."

Learn more about this new technique at Mercy Medical Center's free monthly seminars on weight-loss surgery - offering participants the opportunity to speak with bariatric surgeons and hear first-hand their experiences from patients who have undergone the procedure.

Call 516-62MERCY (516-626-3729) for registration and more information.

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