A REVOLUTIONARY operation that helps people lose weight by switching off their
hunger pangs could soon be made available on the NHS.
The 45-minute procedure, performed under local anaesthetic, leaves patients
with nothing more than a small nick on the skin.
During the surgery hundreds of tiny beads are injected into the stomach to
stop it craving food.
The treatment, called Bariatric arterial embolisation which has been developed
in the USA, is preparing to start a UK trial led by a Southampton obesity
surgeon.
Results so far have been impressive with patients losing on average of 13 per
cent body weight after six months.
The treatment could be a game-changer saving the NHS millions of pounds in
expensive invasive high risk obesity surgery.
An obesity operation can cost as much as £15,000 but the new technique could
be completed for as little as £3,000.
The procedure involves feeding the beads the size of a grain of sand through
an incision in the wrist.
A tube is threaded through the arterial system until reaches an area of the
stomach known to control hunger.
The tiny beads block the arteries in the fundus preventing the release of a
powerful hormone called grehlin which is known to play a key role in telling
the body it needs to take on food.
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By cutting its ability to demand food, the obese can lose significant amounts
of weight.
The procedure has been trialled on a small group of patients by researchers at
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, USA.
Professor Cliff Weiss, an interventional radiologist, who is heading the
study, said: “The results were very encouraging. There were no safety issues
apart from one or two patients feeling a little nauseous after the
procedure.
“The results- although only in a small group of patients- were very good and
showed that we could have one of the best obesity treatments yet.
“All the patients achieved significant weight loss and are continuing to lose
weight.
“Interventional embolisation is a tried and tested medical technology. We
already use it stop bleeding stomach ulcers, to treat fibroids and to block
the blood supply to tumours.
“We know that most gastric surgery alters the digestive system with possible
side effects that can life changing and irreversible. The beauty of this
treatment is that you get weight loss in a more subtle way.”
Newly released results from an early-stage trial show that seven patients lost
21 lb on average within six months of surgery. One person lost 7st.
Weight loss surgeon James Byrne, of Southampton General Hospital, is now
putting together a British trial with radiologist Rob Allison.
Mr Byrne said: “Obesity is a major public health problem, and this
technique may well have a role to play.”
IT consultant Cheryl Denby, 48, lost 7st in six months and believes she will
lose another 3st before the year is out. She said: “Straight away, my
desire for food was dulled. I just don’t have that desire to eat as freely
any more.”