http://i36.tinypic.com/33ucokw.jpg A California woman had 80 percent of her stomach removed through her mouth using a minimally invasive technique, according to surgeons who say it may be the first of its kind in the world. Surgeons at the University of California, San Diego Medical Center performed the sleeve gastrectomy on Aug. 3. The patient, Connie Harris of Carlsbad, Calif., is recovering at home and doing well. “We remove 80 percent of the stomach to try to create a sensation of fullness and make the patient lose weight,” said Dr. Santiago Horgan, chief of minimally invasive surgery and director for the UCSD Center for the Treatment of Obesity. A sleeve gastrectomy allows patients to lose two to four pounds each week after surgery. Before surgery, Harris, 61, weighed almost 200 pounds at just 5-feet, 4-inches tall. She lost a lot of the weight before surgery while on an all-liquid diet to reduce the size of her liver, and now weighs 175 pounds after surgery. “At some point, you tell yourself the truth that all of the diets that you’ve been on haven’t been working,” said Harris, adding that she’s been dieting since she was 7 years old. “I think it’s the future. I think people should really look into it.” The sleeve gestrectomy incorporates two minimally invasive techniques – laparoscopic surgery and natural orifice translumenal endoscopic surgery (NOTES) – both intended to reduce scarring….. for full story visit http://www.waneenterprises.com/forums/4//830/1 added by: Wizzane
