Aspiration therapy is a bariatric approach to siphon ingested food from the stomach via an implanted tube and port to the outside of the body to be discarded. The device for this approach was developed by researchers at

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...

to treat

obesity Obesity is a medical condition, sometimes considered a disease, in which excess body fat has accumulated to such an extent that it may negatively affect health. People are classified as obese when their body mass index (BMI)—a person's we ...

and has been named AspireAssist. The device has also been termed a reverse feeding tube. It was approved by the

Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is respon ...

(FDA) on June 14, 2016.FDA release. June 14, 2016
/ref> AspireAssist is made by Aspire Bariatrics. It is inserted in an outpatient setting using an endoscope during an about 15 minutes procedure.Aspire Bariatrics website
/ref> People with the device can discharge yet undigested food via the port into the toilet, typically 20 to 30 minutes after a meal. Critics have called the approach “assisted bulemia”. In an initial study 18 people those with the device lost more weight than controls.{{cite journal, last1=Kumar, first1=N, title=Endoscopic therapy for weight loss: Gastroplasty, duodenal sleeves, intragastric balloons, and aspiration., journal=World Journal of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, date=25 July 2015, volume=7, issue=9, pages=847–59, pmid=26240686, doi=10.4253/wjge.v7.i9.847, pmc=4515419 The therapy is supported by a lifestyle counseling program and requires regular medical supervision. Candidates for the device cannot have an eating disorder, should be 22 years old or more, and should have a body mass index of 35 to 55. Short term use is not encouraged. Contraindications for the device are certain eating disorders (i.e. bulimia), certain types of previous abdominal surgery, pregnancy, stomach ulcers and inflammatory bowel disease. Side effects reported are local skin irritation at the port site and abdominal discomfort, nausea, vomiting, constipation, and diarrhea. Local infection may require removal of the tube. The device is removable. Removal is performed on an outpatient basis and requires about ten minutes.

References

Medical devices Bariatrics Management of obesity Washington University in St. Louis