Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Tongue patch hard to swallow
New weight-loss tool 'barbaric'
The tongue patch is stitched on in a 10-minute procedure that costs US$3,000.
A controversial new weight-loss technique has tongues wagging -- and feeling tender.
The medical procedure involves stitching a small piece of polyethylene mesh onto a patient's tongue, making it painful to ingest solid foods and forcing a low-calorie, liquid diet.
"The patch is a pattern interrupt," said Dr. Nikolas Chugay, the California-based plastic surgeon who developed the concept. "It is uncomfortable to eat solid foods, so people will all of a sudden remember, I am only to eat liquids."
Since last September, Chugay says 35 people have opted for the surgery, resulting in an average weight loss of 20 pounds (over the one-month period the postage-stamp-sized piece of fabric stays stitched on).
"These are people who have been through... every conceivable diet; they've tried everything and for some reason they just cannot stop eating," he said, adding that the odd patient is looking to shed unwanted weight for special occasions, such as weddings.
The patch wearer is put on a diet of 750 calories a day -- about half the consumption amount suggested for the average adult female and one-third the amount for the average adult male. Patients also come in for weekly assessments that include a psychological consult and a diet and exercise plan.
"It gives us a chance to train the patient how to eat right, how to exercise right, so when they take the patch out, they will continue on a diet that is sensible," said Chugay.
And it doesn't come cheap. The 10-minute surgery -- performed using a local anesthetic to attach four to six sutures in the direct centre of the tongue -- costs about US$3,000.
But critics of the tongue patch have called the procedure "barbaric" and "medieval" and "unnecessarily cruel."
"I don't think pain is the way to try to encourage people to change their lifestyles," said Dr. Yoni Freedhoff, an Ottawa-based physician who specializes in the management of obesity.
"If there was a quick and easy way to do this, we'd all be skinny... The notion that pain is required to teach these people what to do is not only a ridiculous assertion but unnecessarily cruel."
Freedhoff says it takes one to three years of "consciously working" at a new behaviour to forge it into a habit.
"Having a device in your mouth that causes you temporary pain when you eat will likely cause a temporary reduction in weight as you stop eating," he said. "Once that device is removed from your mouth -- like all diets that involve suffering -- almost certainly the weight will return when you go back to the lifestyle you had before you had the medieval torture device installed in your mouth.
"I really can't think of any other thing in medicine where we (purposefully) evoke pain... To me, it sounds like medical madness."
But Chugay rebuffs his fault-finders, saying the procedure is safer than extreme measures such as gastric bypass or liposuction.
"There is nothing barbaric about it... It's a very gentle, non-invasive procedure," he said. "It is not a standard diet procedure; you need to start on your own, make an effort. But if you can't and you really need to lose the weight... This is the next step."
-- Canwest News Service
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition February 24, 2010 A14
The comment period for this story has ended.
-
Breaking News Alerts
Sign up for our new Breaking News Alerts
-
Editor's Bulletin
Sign up for daily bulletins
-
Winnipeg road closures
Check if your commute is affected
-
Blogs to Watch
We pick our favourite local blogs for you to follow
-
Breaking News Widget
Create and embed a Winnipeg Free Press breaking news widget on your site or blog
-
Twitter
Follow our reporters and news feeds on Twitter
Ads by Google
- Back to Top
- Return to Life & Style
Poll
Most Popular
- New complaint against judge
- Driver dies in two-vehicle collision near Anola
- No deal on Coyotes, talks continue
- Bargain hunters take note
- Woman went for walk, hasn’t returned home
- Pierce not throwing in towel yet
- Former RCMP officer facing jail time
- Teen robbed at bus stop
- Do you think Mayor Katz' pledge to add 58 police officers will make a difference?
- Shunned after fling with daughters' friend
- Shunned after fling with daughters' friend
- New complaint against judge
- 'Nothing short of a miracle' at how well missing woman fared
- Woman went for walk, hasn’t returned home
- Expanded weather warnings issued ahead of hurricane Earl
- Streaks of light in night sky pose mystery
- Dirty secret not so secret in city's legal community
- Bar association slams CBC over judge sex scandal coverage
- Five hurt in head-on crash
- Search on for woman missing in Belair Provincial Forest
- Boyfriend's porno secret discovered
- Shunned after fling with daughters' friend
- Major downpour floods streets, knocks out power
- Judge embroiled in sex scandal removes self from bench
- Woman dead after apparent fall from downtown high-rise
- Pedestrian dies after collision with truck
- Jennifer's body
- Illegal channel irks cottagers
- New complaint against judge
- 'Nothing short of a miracle' at how well missing woman fared
- Sex offender has sentence reduced
- No deal on Coyotes, talks continue
- Two thongs don't make a right
- Transit advocates plan Katz protest today
- Katz pledges more cops
- Detractors say Ottawa should steer clear of Quebec City hockey arena project
- Bombers ready to give Lumsden a test drive
- Bargain hunters take note
- Driver dies in two-vehicle collision near Anola
- Florida minister determined to hold Qur’an burn on 9/11, despite international outcry
- Katz pledges to add 58 police officers
- Enough for a passport, but not MPI
- Shunned after fling with daughters' friend
- Bombers fall 27-23 to Roughriders
- Man hurt after truck slams into bridge
- Wasylycia-Leis alleges Katz interference in info requests
- Streaks of light in night sky pose mystery
- Sex offender has sentence reduced
- Bombers in talks with Lumsden
- Five hurt in head-on crash
- Care denied after fee not paid
- RM denies permission for group home
- Katz pledges to add 58 police officers
- Just a sec, say traffic activists
- Band threatens to block access to Whiteshell
- Canopy opens can of worms
- Brian really was lyin'
- Wasylycia-Leis pledges to launch two new crime-fighting programs
- Toews says ship carrying migrants a 'test boat'
- RM wrong to run New Directions out of town
- CT, nuclear imaging tests in pregnancy don't raise risk of cancer in kids: study
- New complaint against judge
- Bargain hunters take note
- Israelis convinced new peace initiative has a chance
- Facebook a big hit with narcissists and people with low self-esteem: study
- Psst! Campaign a-paws to lure Dog Whisperer
- No men in the pews? Could be church's fault
- Bottom OF THE CLASS
- Streaks of light in night sky pose mystery
- Garden park for wee ones
- No men in the pews? Could be church's fault
- Oh, Zsuzsanna
- Bottom OF THE CLASS
- Streaks of light in night sky pose mystery
- Airport plan grounded
- Spin on the river turns adventurous
- Judge disclosed 'problem'
- History BY THE SLICE
- CT, nuclear imaging tests in pregnancy don't raise risk of cancer in kids: study
- Cute Alert! Zoo unveils panda cubs
- Judge embroiled in sex scandal removes self from bench
- Dashcam video shows car flying into overpass, being reduced to parts; driver critical
- No men in the pews? Could be church's fault
- Families find Manitoba's first jellyfish
- Tiny 10-year-old stuns judges, audience with huge voice
- STEINKOPF ROCKED
- Oh, Zsuzsanna
- N.D. clinic to offer controversial MS screening
- Green slime can be toxic, experts say
- Best films in Hollywood history to be shown on big screen
Events
September 9, 2010
Life in the Spirit Seminar
Seven weekly sessions of teaching and sharing on the gifts of the holy spirit, an invitation to youth and adults of all faiths, at Holy Family Ukrainian Catholic church, 1001 Grant Avenue, call Marianne ...
3 Comments
You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. All you need to do is register and/or login and you can join the conversation and give your feedback.
Posted by: Farmerswife
February 25, 2010 at 7:26 AM
Not much different to sewing their lips shut really. Good grief, whats next.
Posted by: amkb
February 24, 2010 at 7:28 PM
"These are people who have been through... every conceivable diet; they've tried everything and for some reason they just cannot stop eating,"
You know, I've tried every conceivable method, but I just can't seem to stop breathing, either. Or going to the bathroom. My nails won't stop growing, either.
"It gives us a chance to train the patient how to eat right, how to exercise right..."
Yeah, 'cause we all know that eating "right" means starving yourself on 750 calories a month on a liquid diet, and loosing 20 pounds in a month is a great form of exercise.
What idiocy!
Posted by: down with EE
February 24, 2010 at 3:47 PM
Holy crap, people.
Pay me 3000 US to follow you around and smack you in the mouth everytime you eat something fattening.
I guarantee it will work just as good.
With the state of unemployment bordering on epic, maybe I just discovered a new diet! Move over Atkins!