Doctor: Weight loss procedure helps patients feel full sooner

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — A procedure for patients who have had gastric bypass surgery is being offered at Corewell Health and your insurance may cover it, according to a gastroenterologist.

Transoral Outlet Reduction Procedure, or TORe, is a weight loss procedure for patients who have regained weight or not hit their weight loss goals after gastric bypass surgery. It’s a minimally-invasive outpatient procedure that snakes a thin, flexible tube down the throat into the gastric outlet and places stitches to tighten it, according to Dr. Stephen Simmer, a gastroenterologist at Corewell Health.

“It’s performed in the hospital under anesthesia and so the patient is asleep but also being closely monitored … it’s a completely endoscopic procedure, so there’s no skin incisions, there’s no scars, nothing like that,” said Simmer.

The purpose of the procedure is to slow down the emptying of the food from the stomach, which helps patients feel full longer, eat less and lose weight, he said.

“The people that should consider this are people who have previously undergone gastric bypass surgery. They may have lost that sensation of feeling full soon after eating and have regained weight,” Simmer said.

TORe was first performed in 2013 but recently gained approval from the Food and Drug Administration, so insurances are starting to cover the cost.

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