First NYC-Area Transoral Gastroplasty Performed

NEW YORK CITY — The first incision-free surgery for obesity to be preformed in the New York City area occurred recently at the NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center. The surgery featured direct endoscopic visualization and specialized instruments that were passed into the stomach through the mouth.

The transoral gastroplasty (TOGA) was part of the ongoing TOGA Pivotal Trial.

TOGA is designed to alter the patient's stomach so that the patient has a feeling of fullness after consumption of a small meal.

In the new procedure, the surgeon introduces a set of flexible stapling devices through the mouth into the stomach, and uses them to create a restrictive pouch that is intended to catch food as it enters the stomach.

The benefits of an endoscopic approach are less pain, quicker recovery, less scarring, shortened hospital stay and decreased complications, according to study co-investigator Daniel Davis, MD, a surgeon at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center and assistant professor of surgery at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.

"Eventually, TOGA may also be an option for patients who are unable or unwilling to undergo more invasive surgery," Davis said.

Currently, the TOGA System is an "investigational device" and can only be used in clinical studies.

For more information on TOGA, click here.

Source: NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center