Photo by Andrew Turner
Some people will do anything to lose weight. A new surgically implanted tongue patch makes eating difficult and painful forcing the patient to ingest a liquid only diet. The procedure was invented by cosmetic surgeon, Dr. Nikolas Chugay.
Patients have the tongue patch implanted for a month and have reportedly lost up to 20 pounds in that time. Recovery from the procedure is supposedly quick and patients "are typically able to return to work the following day."
Obesity doctor Yoni Freedhoff, author of the Weighty Matters blog comments, "That a physician that believes doing 'no harm' involves promoting physical discomfort as the key to helping inspire long-term behavioral change in patients is truly depressing, both for his patients and for the profession."
While there's little debate that liquid diets, if adhered to properly, do result in weight loss, the bigger questions are is it good for you and does the weight stay off?
Liquid diets may not offer the full nutritional benefits that come from real food (like fiber and antioxidants). Also, these diets don't help you change your eating habits. For best results, do this under medical supervision, limit the amount of time on the liquid diet, and learn to modify your eating habits.
Remember that permanent weight control is best done with long term behavioral changes.
Comments
Interesting article!
Amazing- exercise and moderation must seem too hard-
Why not just krazy glue their mouth shut?
Wear wearable weights like "Body Togs" weighted sleeves on your arms & legs under clothes that increase calorie burn, muscle tone & bone density.
What do they do, strap spikes to your tongue?? This sounds archaic and ridiculous. Folks, it's easy . . . eat less, move more. Don't go have your fat sucked out - it comes back. Don't go on crash diets, they don't work. Don't get spikes strapped to your tongue. Eat less, move more. Make that your motto.
Dr. Freedhoff wrote a scathing blog article about this on his blog (link to his Weighty Matters blog is above in the article).
I read with interest your story on the Chugay Tongue patch. Everyone is entitled to your opinion, but in this case your opinion is wrong.
If you had done your homework, you would have found the Chugay tongue patch has been used in Mexico for several years and has been very successful in losing weight. And it is not very painful.
Dr. Chugay is not crazy - he is actually a member of an international group of doctors studying this device to find its merits and demerits.
And you should be aware that obesity is the #1 disease of the 21st century. People die from it - via high blood pressure, diabetes, strokes, and heart attacks.
So how does this compare with other obesity surgery? Other surgery consists of stomach stapling, gastric banding, intestinal surgery etc. The tongue patch is a small, innocuous procedure compared to this. Still, only after proper evaluation will we know the roll it'll play in obesity management.
Dr. Barry Lycka
President The Ethical Cosmetic Surgery Associat
Hi Dr Lycka,
I don't believe I offered an opinion in the above article. I did mention that Dr. Freedhoff has been vocal about his opinions, but they are not necessarily my opinions.
I do appreciate your comments though -- I think it's useful to hear differing opinions -- especially from another expert in the field.
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