Fatty Zapper, Makes Patty Perfect!

02:00 AM May. 25, 2004 PT

Fighting the flab when it's at the stage of morbid obesity is no picnic. A new device may soon ease the battle by sending electrical pulses to the patient's stomach, tricking him into thinking he is full.

The Transcend Implantable Gastric Stimulator features a pocket watch-sized gizmo implanted just below the rib cage. "It's an electrical pulse generator similar to a heart pacemaker with wiring, called the lead, that's attached to the muscle wall of the stomach," said Dr. Scott Shikora, surgeon and associate director of the Obesity Consult Center at Tufts-New England Medical Center.