FDA Approved Weight-loss Stomach Pump Device : How Does it Work?

A new weight loss stomach pump device was approved by The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday in hopes to treat obesity. The stomach-pumping weight-loss device works as an external pump that dumps some stomach content down to the toilet before food is fully digested.

The weight-loss stomach pump device has a thin tube that is implanted in the stomach that connects to an outside port of the belly skin. The pump is detachable to the outside port and can remove about a third of the stomach's contents after each meal. The weight-loss device called AspireAssist is considered to be minimally invasive, reports Today.

20 minutes after finishing a meal, the users will connect the port to the external device that pumps out the recently consumed food down to the toilet. Some critics have called it "assisted bulimia" but the new weight-loss stomach pump device is approved only for the use of very obese adult patients. This helps them lose an average of more than 12 percent of body weight - far more than pills or most diets can, CTV News explains.

We're thrilled to announce that the FDA has just approved the #AspireAssist! Press release: https://t.co/ZwIEHy3NF1 pic.twitter.com/MB3xWzOnvI

— AspireAssist (@AspireAssist) June 14, 2016

"It is intended to assist in weight loss in patients aged 22 and older who are obese, with a body-mass index of 35 to 55," the FDA clarified in a statement. The new weight-loss stomach pump device would also be helpful for those who failed to achieve and maintain weight loss through non-surgical therapy. They conducted clinical trials and resulted to patients losing an average of 46 pounds in the first year and another few pounds to make 50 pounds of weight loss by the second year as a result.

Washington University's Dr. Shelby Sullivan in St. Louis, helped test the AspireAssist and other medical devices and refuted the critics description of assisted bulimia, which is an eating disorder of  where the a patient binge eats and then purges or forces vomiting. "There is no such thing as medical bulimia or assisted bulimia." She said regarding how the weight-loss device works

In statistics, about 38 percent of American adults are obese. A person who is 5-foot-9 tall would be obese at 203 pounds. There are some side effects seen with the new weight-loss stomach pump device or AspireAssist. This includes nausea, vomiting, constipation, and diarrhea. Health care providers are advised to regularly monitor their patients as they undergo the procedure.