New Tool in the Battle of the Bulge?
VBloc therapy inserts electronic device in abdomen to suppress appetite.
May 8, 2008 — -- Heather Groff of Highland Springs, Va., is only 29 years old, but issues with her weight have been a lifelong struggle.
At nearly 300 pounds, Groff said she has tried every diet trick she could.
"I did Weight Watchers, I did one of those shake plans, I tried those diet pills," she said, explaining that none of them had worked for her.
After rejecting the idea of gastric-bypass surgery, Groff learned about a new procedure called VBloc therapy.
The new therapy uses laparoscopic surgery to insert a device into the abdomen, just beneath the skin. The device emits electrical signals that block the vagus nerve, which extends from the brain stem to the abdomen and controls hunger. It essentially acts as a pacemaker for hunger, helping patients feel full.
After the device is implanted, patients are required to wear a belt beneath their clothes all day. The belt keeps the device activated and monitors progress.
"It's like putting on your belt every morning and having to cinch it up," said Dr. John Morton, director of bariatric surgery at Stanford University in California. "Clearly, one place it's going to work on is when patients feel hungry, so patients will feel less hungry when they have the device on."
Morton does both gastric-bypass surgery, which shrinks the stomach, and lap-band surgery, which places an adjustable band around the stomach to restrict food intake. He is optimistic about the new procedure.
"Clearly, the risk profile of … VBloc appears to be less than other procedures," he said.
It is being tested in the United States but has yet to receive Food and Drug Administration approval.
"There's not going to be as much weight loss as with gastric bypass," Morton said. "But again, even a modest amount of weight loss is going to give patients a lot of health benefits."
While gastric-bypass surgery allows patients to lose up to 50 percent of their excess weight in the first six months, initial studies indicate that VBloc therapy enables patients to lose about 20 percent.
But unlike gastric-bypass surgery, VBloc therapy requires no major incision, meaning minimal side effects and speedy recovery time.
Groff was hesitant to try gastric-bypass surgery after her mother, who had the surgery five years ago, had a difficult time.
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