True You Weight Loss Announces First Patient Enrolled in Ablate Weight Study Trial

Innovative Treatment Aims to Regulate Appetite Control for Patients Undergoing Endoscopic Sleeve Gastroplasty

True You Weight Loss has enrolled the first patient in the nation in a groundbreaking study to investigate the effects of gastric fundus ablation combined with Endoscopic Sleeve Gastroplasty (ESG) for the management of obesity. This novel study will evaluate the impact of endoscopically ablating the mucosal lining of the gastric fundus – the primary region where the hunger-promoting hormone ghrelin is produced – to assess whether appetite, satiety, and weight loss can be augmented beyond that already seen with the proven ESG procedure.

In the United States, 42% of adults are now affected by obesity. Patients who are eligible for bariatric surgery but wish to avoid the potential risks are increasingly opting to have ESG instead, which is a non-surgical, incisionless procedure that allows a gastroenterologist to use endoscopic suturing to reduce the overall size of the stomach to promote long-term weight loss, with patients losing between 17 to 20 percent of their total body weight.

While ESG offers less risk of complications and a shorter recovery period, the procedure produces lower overall weight loss results when compared to traditional bariatric surgery. One of the primary reasons bariatric surgery offers greater total body weight loss is that surgery typically involves removing a large portion of the stomach. The portion of the stomach that is removed includes the fundus, which is where the primary hunger hormone, ghrelin, is produced.

The study’s Principal Investigator and Founder/Medical Director of True You Weight Loss Dr. Christopher McGowan explains the rationale behind this innovative research, “Our goal with fundic ablation is to pair it with ESG to decrease ghrelin levels, improve satiation, and help our patients achieve even greater total body weight loss than they’d get with traditional ESG,” he said. “It’s a truly revolutionary study that we hope will further demonstrate the effectiveness of non-surgical alternatives for long-term weight loss for the millions of Americans who want to lose weight, but don’t want surgery,” Dr. McGowan concludes.

The fundic ablation procedure lasts approximately 30 to 60 minutes and is performed under anesthesia, on an outpatient basis. True You Weight Loss is still enrolling patients who live in the Triangle, N.C. region, and patients will be compensated for their time.

For more information about this and other active research studies at True You Weight Loss, please visit https://trueyouweightloss.com/research/.

About True You Weight Loss, PLLC

Founded by Dr. Christopher McGowan, True You Weight Loss, PLLC is the nation’s first dedicated endobariatric weight loss center. True You Weight Loss offers a comprehensive range of endobariatric procedures and support services to help patients lose weight, including endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty (ESG), bariatric revisional procedures, intragastric balloon placement, and medical nutrition therapy. To learn more, visit www.trueyouweightloss.com or follow True You on Facebook and Instagram.

About Christopher McGowan, MD

Christopher McGowan, MD is one of the few physicians in the nation who is triple-board-certified in internal medicine, gastroenterology, and obesity medicine, and is a world-renowned leader in endoscopic bariatric therapies, a new field of gastroenterology that aims to address the obesity epidemic without surgical intervention. Dr. McGowan earned his medical degree from Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, PA and completed his internship, residency, and Chief Residency at Brown University in Providence, RI. He did his fellowship training in gastroenterology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and earned a Master of Science in Clinical Research from the UNC Gillings School of Public Health. He received his certification from the American Board of Obesity Medicine in 2019, after completing additional education in obesity medicine. Follow him on Twitter.

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