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Why VBLOC Therapy?Lessons Learned from Vagotomy
Before the availability of proton pump inhibitors (drugs that reduce the amount of gastric acid released into the stomach for persons with ulcers), surgeons routinely cut the vagus nerves near the stomach to treat ulcers. This procedure is called a "vagotomy." For a period of time following surgery, many of the people who underwent this procedure absorbed fewer calories from fat, lost weight and had decreased appetite. Since the nervous system is adept at accommodating the complete loss of the information provided by nerves, such as the vagal nerves, VBLOC Therapy has been designed to provide intermittent blocking. This intermittent blocking effect is intended to prevent accommodation. Vagal blocking (VBLOC Therapy), using high frequency but low energy electrical pulses is under clinical investigation for its ability to regulate or reverse some of the effects of the intact vagus nerve and replicate some of the effects of vagotomy. With VBLOC Therapy, the function of the vagus nerves may be regulated without being severed as in the case of vagotomy.
How does VBLOC Therapy compare with Laparoscopic Banding or Gastric Bypass Surgeries?We are fortunate that there are many exceptional surgeons today who specialize in weight loss surgery. These surgeons, however, have very few options to offer their obese patients. They can either place an adjustable band around the stomach or perform gastric bypass surgery. While each of these types of obesity surgery involves restriction of both the stomach outlet and its capacity, only gastric bypass surgery is capable of reducing the number of calories absorbed, making it both restrictive and malabsorptive.
Bariatric Weight Loss Surgery:Click here to learn about existing and future bariatric surgical options.
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