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Tongue Patch Diet

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Tongue Patch Diet (also known as The Weight Reduction Patch, Chugay Patch and Miracle Patch) is a diet that involves attaching a patch to the top of the tongue that makes eating painful in order to cause the person to avoid eating solid food. After being launched in 2009 by Nikolas Chugay, the diet was criticized by health experts and media outlets. However, no severe risks have been reported.[1]

History

Tongue Patch Diet was developed by Chugay, a plastic surgeon in Beverly Hills, in 2009.[2] Chugay got the idea of the diet from a friend who was doing a similar procedure in Mexico.[2] Chugay introduced the tongue patch diet as an alternative to invasive weight loss methods such as gastric bypass or Lapband surgery.[3] In 2011, a similar procedure was introduced in Venezuela. However, the procedure gained more popularity in Venezuela as compared to the USA.[4]

As of 2014, Chugay is the only surgeon in the USA who offers this treatment and it has not been approved by FDA.[5]

Procedure

In the Tongue Patch Diet, a patch is stitched to the tongue of the dieter to make the consumption of solid food painful. The patch is made of Marlex, a polymer composed of polypropylene and high-density polyethylene.[6][7] The procedure for stitching the patch to the tongue takes about ten minutes.[8]

Since consuming solid food is painful, the dieter has to resort to a restrictive 800-calorie liquid only diet developed by Chugay.[2] The patch can be removed any time by snipping the sutures. However, it should be removed within a month or the tongue may start growing on the patch. Some patients have had the mesh in place up to 60 days without untoward effects. In the days subsequent to the procedure, the patient takes antibiotics for 3 days to minimize the risk of infection and washes with an antiseptic mouth wash to decrease the bacterial count. As of 2014 There have not been any reported case of infection[9]

According to Chugay, the diet can help a patient in reducing 30 pounds in one month.[10] Chugay and his son Paul Chugay published a study in the American Journal of Cosmetic Surgery that said 70 percent of their patients lost an average of 16 pounds and kept it off for eight months.[11]

Risks

Patients may have a swollen tongue or difficulty speaking for the first 72 hours after the procedure. Chugay claims that the diet has no severe risks or side effects.[5]

Critics of the diet have labelled it as dangerous[12] claiming that it could cause infection, swelling or nerve damage. Others have claimed that the patch could dislodge and go down the throat and cause an airway obstruction. However, these claims have not been substantiated by evidence.[13]

Only one study has been conducted on the diet by Paul Chugay.[14] A retrospective chart review was performed on patients who underwent the tongue patch procedure from 2009 to 2013. Complications were also identified from the patient charts and analysed. The study was published in the American Journal of Cosmetic Surgery and concluded that "a tongue patch can achieve significant weight loss over a 30-day period with relatively minimal procedural risk."[15]

In the Media

After being launched, the diet has received considerable media attention. A lot of health experts criticized the diet. Robert Huizenga called the diet "a primitive approach."[16] Many media outlets have also reviewed the diet negatively with Good Magazine writing that "in essence it's nothing more than a modern version of wiring one's jaw shut, forcing the "patient" to literally starve themselves."[6] and Glamour writing "Yikes! Does this seem like a good idea to anybody?"[17]

In 2013, two women, Marlene Beltran and Lysander Lanuza, tried the patch for thirty days and their progress was covered by ABC News in 20/20. Beltran lost 18 lbs and Lanuza lost 23 lbs in one month.[16] The report concluded that "despite the pain and discomfort that came with it, the women were pleased with the results..."[18]

Several success stories have also been featured by the media in the USA as well as Venezuela.[9][19] Reviewing the diet, Inquistr magazine wrote that "whatever the amount paid, there is no doubting that the weight loss miracle actually works – within that month a patient can drop thirty pounds"[20] and Time wrote that "while the patch is certainly effective (patients can drop up to thirty pounds in a month), the securing of an abrasive foreign object to the tongue comes with plenty of side-effects."[21]

In 2014, Daily News reported that Wi May Nava, a Venezuelan beauty pageant holder also uses the patch for weight loss.[22]

References

  1. ^ "An increasingly popular weight loss measure known as the "tongue patch diet" is getting reviews and warnings from doctors who say the procedure is "dangerous"". Christian Post. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
  2. ^ a b c "'Tongue Patch' Diet: The Experts Weigh In". Fox News. Retrieved 30 January 2015. Cite error: The named reference "FOX" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  3. ^ "Tongue patch diet forces users to consume liquids only". UPI. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
  4. ^ "The Latest Insane Diet Trend? Stitched-On Tongue Patches". Daily Lounge. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
  5. ^ a b "'Miracle' Tongue Patch Surgery Causes 30 Pound Weight Loss, By Making Eating Near Impossible [VIDEO]". Medical Daily. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
  6. ^ a b "Is the "Tongue Patch" the Dumbest Diet Fad Ever?". Good Magazine. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
  7. ^ "Now this sounds goofy: A tongue patch for weight loss?". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
  8. ^ "Extreme Dieting!!". Womans Health Canada. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
  9. ^ a b "A tongue patch for weight loss?". Fox News. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
  10. ^ "New diet fad includes tongue patch". Fox News. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
  11. ^ "Pain = Weight Loss: The Tongue Patch Diet". ABC News. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
  12. ^ "The latest crazy diet trend? Tongue patches". WBAL TV. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
  13. ^ "Tongue Patch Diet: Hailed as 'Miracle,' Criticized as 'Dangerous' (Video)". News Max. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
  14. ^ "New diet not a patch on sensible eating". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
  15. ^ "Weight Loss Tongue Patch: An Alternative Nonsurgical Method to Aid in Weight Loss in Obese Patients". American Journal of Cosmetic Surgery. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
  16. ^ a b "Painful new weight loss craze: the tongue patch diet [VIDEO]". Daily Star. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
  17. ^ "Scary Weight Loss Strategy: Surgeons Sew Patches on the Tongue Making Eating Painful". Glamour. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
  18. ^ "Would you have a patch stitched onto your TONGUE to lose weight? Two women try out extreme dieting method. . . and drop 20lbs in 30 days". Daily Mail. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
  19. ^ "DIETERS SEW PATCH ONTO TONGUE TO LOSE WEIGHT". ABC. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
  20. ^ "Tongue Patch Is New Weight Loss Miracle". Inquisitr. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
  21. ^ "The 'Miracle' Tongue Patch: Beauty-Conscious Venezuela's New Extreme Diet". Time Magazine. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
  22. ^ "SEE IT: Venezuelan beauty queen has plastic mesh sewn to tongue to stay thin [VIDEO]". New York Daily News. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
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