Scalpel Free Weight Loss Surgery - Who Benefits?

Courtesy of BFB member Beanietude in the Forums, comes the "news" that the future of weight loss surgery will be the elimination of the "surgery" altogether, in favor of procedures which use the body's natural orifices. These procedures would be less risky and less expensive than those currently in use.

At a recent 3 day medical conference about obesity, doctors discussed the development of stomach stapling procedures performed via the mouth with endoscopic equipment and the potential for procedures to use implanted sleeves or tubes in the intestines to block the absorption of calories (and nutrients) which could ostensibly be placed via rectal insertion.

How pleasant.

Now, all things being equal, it is certain that if the choice is between a surgical procedure and a non-surgical procedure, it is to the benefit of a patient to have the latter. But one has to wonder if the benefit to patients is the real reason for these "innovations" in weight loss procedures. According to Dr. Philip Schauer, head of bariatric surgery at the Cleveland Clinic and recently named president of the American Society of Bariatric Surgery:

"If there's less risk, maybe we could do (bariatric surgery) on patients with a lower BMI, maybe under 35, as a preventive operation."

If more people, people who weigh less, are having procedures, that's more money for the doctors and hospitals. And let's not leave out the corporate interests; Johnson & Johnson and Tyco Healthcare were specifically named as developers of equipment and supplies which may be used in these procedures, which opens a new avenue of income, especially if the field of potential patients is expanded to include people who are currently deemed "not fat enough" to qualify for surgical "solutions." As the article pointed out: 1 in 3 adults in the U.S. are medically deemed to be obese.

We know some of the risks associated with long-term alterations of the digestive system, particularly permanent alterations. We know the pitfalls of focusing on weight loss rather than fitness. Rather than spending time developing new procedures which are ten years from being ready for use with patients, doctors could be developing new initiatives to help people of all ages and all sizes become more fit and more healthy. But, there's no money in that, at least not for them. And you really do need to follow the money:

Venture capitalist Dr. Lee Wrubel, a general partner at Foundation Medical Partners, said an investor must have a 10-year horizon. "A lot of us who didn't invest in this area five years ago are glad we didn't," Wrubel said.

Perhaps it's cynical, but it's hard to view these developments as intended as a means of improving lives as much as improving bottom lines.

-- posted by Dreama