Cosmetic surgeons are testing a new form of obesity surgery which enables patient’s stomachs to be stapled without the need to make any cuts in the abdomen. Instead, patients have a long, thick tube fed down their throats and this tube staples up part of the stomach.

Similar to current procedures, this creates a smaller stomach pouch helping patients feel full more quickly after eating, and also helping them to eat less.

This new form of obesity surgery has already been tested on around 300 patients 200 in America and 100 in Europe, and initial results from the surgery are said to be promising with European test subjects said to have lost an average of around 45% of their body weight in the 18 months since their obesity surgery. This means that this form of obesity surgery actually has slightly better results than standard stomach stapling.

The final results for this new form of obesity surgery are due in 2010 and if successful, the technique will be submitted for approval by the FDA and other medical boards around the world.

This form of stomach stapling has different risks to the surgery currently performed today. Although these is less risk of infection and blood clots as no cuts are made, there is the risk of the tube perforating the oesophagus.