CARY, N.C.– Dr. Christopher McGowan, CEO and Medical Director of True You Weight Loss, will livestream his 2000th Endoscopic Sleeve Gastroplasty on Saturday, October 15th, allowing prospective patients and physician colleagues from around the world to see firsthand how the procedure is performed and to ask questions in real-time.
Endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty (ESG) is a non-surgical, incisionless, minimally-invasive procedure that reduces the overall size of the stomach to promote long-term weight loss. It’s an outpatient procedure that takes less than an hour, and patients can lose up to 100 pounds or more, or approximately 20 percent of their total body weight. Last summer, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted authorization of the device used for ESG. A recently released MERIT study proved that ESG is an effective and safe procedure, with patients losing 45% more of their excess weight with ESG, compared to diet and lifestyle. Patients undergoing ESG also experienced clinically significant reductions in diabetes, hypertension and metabolic syndrome at 12 months.
Though ESG is highly effective and comes without the side effects of surgery, it’s one of the most technically challenging endoscopic procedures and requires a high level of endoscopic skill. Dr. McGowan is a leading educator in the field of endoscopic weight loss and regularly trains physicians from around the world in the technique of endoscopic suturing. Patients have traveled to Dr. McGowan from more than 48 states and 10 countries for his unrivaled expertise in endoscopic bariatric and metabolic therapies (EBMTs).
Dr. McGowan was the first physician to livestream the ESG procedure back in 2019, and this will be his second time performing it live for a global audience. He explains that the technique for performing ESG has evolved over the years, and this live streaming event will demonstrate these technical changes.
“The emergence of endoscopic bariatric and metabolic therapies (EBMT) like the endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty is transforming how the medical community can help address our nation’s obesity epidemic – without surgery,” explains Dr. Christopher McGowan. “By performing a live procedure and answering questions about ESG, we aim to increase awareness and understanding of these new tools among the many individuals and clinical providers who are struggling to address obesity and its related medical conditions.”
Just last month, a report by economists detailed the high cost of obesity, and it’s a staggering number. Currently, obesity costs countries 2.19% of their gross domestic product (GDP), and that number is predicted to jump to 3.3% of GDP by 2060. Here in the U.S., we know 42% of U.S. adults are affected by obesity, which is linked to more than 200 diseases, including diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, and multiple forms of cancer.
Viewers can watch the procedure live on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Twitter and LinkedIn on Saturday, October 15th at 1pm ET. A recording will be made available on YouTube (Christopher McGowan, MD – YouTube) for those unable to watch live.
