Dr. Frank Chae at Sky Ridge Medical Center First in Colorado Certified to Offer VBLOC® Vagal Blocking Therapy for the Treatment of Obesity
First New Medical Device Approved for Obesity in More Than a Decade
LONE TREE, Colo., May 27, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Dr. Frank Chae, Chief of Bariatric Surgery at Sky Ridge Medical Center, is among one of the first physicians in the country certified in implanting the VBLOC® vagal blocking therapy for the treatment of obesity.
On January 14, 2015, EnteroMedics Inc. announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved VBLOC® vagal blocking therapy, delivered via the Maestro® System, for the treatment of adult patients who have 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 more than 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 and the Maestro System provide patients with a bariatric surgical option they have never had before – a positive path to addressing their weight issues that does not compromise their lifestyle or social well-being," says Dr. Chae. "I am pleased to be one of the first bariatric surgeons to be certified in the surgical technique for implanting 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 that 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 Sky Ridge Medical Center. The Maestro System has received CE Mark and is listed on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods. Patients interested in scheduling a consultation with Dr. Chae should call 720-225-1000 or visit www.skyridgemedcenter.com for more information.
Sky Ridge Medical Center, the first hospital to open in Douglas County just 12 years ago, is a Bariatric Center of Excellence and a member of the HealthONE network. HealthONE is the largest healthcare system in the metro Denver area with more than 10,000 employees.
SOURCE Sky Ridge Medical Center
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