First New Medical Device Approved for Obesity in Over a Decade Available

Dr. Mark Colquitt and Dr. Jonathan Ray of Foothills Weight Loss Specialists are among the first physicians certified in implanting the VBLOC® vagal blocking therapy for the treatment of obesity.

Vbloc graphicIn January of 2015, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved VBLOC® vagal blocking therapy, delivered via the Maestro® System, for the treatment of adult obesity. VBLOC is for patients with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of at least 40 to 45 kg/m2, or a BMI of at least 35 to 39.9 kg/m2 with a related health condition such as high blood pressure or high cholesterol levels, and who have tried to lose weight in a supervised weight management program within the past five years.

The Maestro System is the first new medical device to be approved by the FDA for obesity in over ten years.

“Obesity is the number one healthcare challenge of our age and the impact of this disease is so often under estimated. VBLOC Therapy provides patients with a bariatric surgical option they have never had before – a path to addressing their weight issues that does not compromise their lifestyle or social well-being,” says Dr. Colquitt. “I am pleased to be one of the first bariatric surgeons certified to implant the Maestro System so that my patients are able to lose weight through VBLOC.”

The Maestro System is a pacemaker-like device that is implanted, usually in an outpatient procedure, to control both hunger and fullness by intermittently blocking the primary nerve which regulates the digestive system, the vagus nerve.

VBLOC Therapy does not surgically alter or restrict the digestive system, does not create barriers to prevent absorption of nutrients and is completely reversible, allowing patients to lose weight without lifestyle compromises.

The device is available at select Bariatric Centers of Excellence in the U.S. this year including Foothills Weight Loss Specialists in Knoxville. The Maestro System has received CE Mark and is listed on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods.

Patients interested in scheduling a consultation for VBLOC Vagal Blocking Therapy should call Foothills Weight Loss at (865) 984-3413.