USGI Medical: Middle East’s first scar-free weight loss procedure POSE performed in a bid to curb obesity in the region

SAN CLEMENTE, Calif. - Tuesday, February 26th 2013 [ME NewsWire]

(BUSINESS WIRE)-- With the Middle East experiencing an obesity epidemic with 30-75% of adults overweight or obese, a leading doctor in the region, Doctor Tarek Saleh, has become the first locally to perform the POSE procedure (Primary Obesity Surgery, Endolumenal) on patients for weight loss. The scar-free, non-invasive procedure from USGI Medical, Inc is designed to help patients reduce hunger and feel full sooner and globally has been performed on over 1,200 patients.

Dr. Saleh has performed the Middle East’s first POSE procedures on twenty-five patients to date at the Al-Habib Medical Centre, Dubai Health Care City. The centre, part of the Dr. Sulaiman Al Habib Medical Group, is a leading provider of private healthcare in the Middle East. The patients who underwent the POSE procedure returned to work or normal activities within 2-3 days with no complications.

“Obesity and its side effects such as diabetes are a serious issue across the Middle East, United Arab Emirates and Gulf States. Many people are struggling with their weight and are looking for an alternative to invasive weight loss surgery. POSE is a new discreet procedure to help my patients feel full and eat less,” said Dr. Saleh. “It offers many advantages over traditional bariatric surgery performed through the abdomen, resulting in shorter hospitalization, less risk of infection and no visible scars. My first patients were back to their everyday lives within just a few days, without any bandages or signs of surgery.”

To perform POSE, doctors pass USGI Medical’s Incisionless Operating Platform™ (IOP), down a patient’s throat, and use tools to grasp tissue and deploy the company’s specially-designed Expandable Tissue Anchors to create multiple tissue folds in the stomach. An endoscope provides visualization.

According to the latest available study by the World Health Organization around 39.9% of women in the United Arab Emirates are obese, the seventh highest proportion in the world. Among men, 25.6% were classified as obese, the ninth highest figure. Several serious diseases and conditions are commonly associated with obesity, including Type II diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Surgical treatment of obesity has increased significantly in recent years; however, most obese or overweight people refuse traditional obesity surgery because they are concerned about the risk of complications1. Incision free procedures such as POSE offer a desirable alternative.

Consumers:

If you are interested in learning more about having the POSE Weight Loss procedure, contact: Dr. Tarek Saleh at Dr Sulaiman Al-Habib Medical Center, Dubai Health Care City www.salehclinic.com or visit www.facebook.com/salehclinic.

About USGI Medical:

For more information about USGI Medical and the Incisionless Operating Platform please visit www.usgimedical.com.

1 “Perceived barriers to bariatric surgery among morbidly obese patients.” Alfonso, Rosenthal, Ming Li, Zapatier and Szomstein. Surgery for Obesity and Related Diseases 6 (2010) 16-21.

Contacts

VSPR

Vicky Stoakes

t: 00 44 (0) 7747 534 519

e: vicky@vs-pr.com