See "Industry Giants Push Weight Surgery" in the WSJ today.
Excerpts:
Medical-device makers, venture capitalists and surgeons are racing to turn gastric banding, a once-controversial weight-loss procedure, into the next big elective surgery in the U.S."There's no question that advertising and the commercialization of the band is what's driving it," says J.K. Champion, a bariatric surgeon in Atlanta.
Unlike the band makers, physicians and clinics can make advertising claims that aren't subject to the strict rules imposed by the Food and Drug Administration.
An end-run around the anatomy. An end-run around regulations. Fat chance this will stop anytime soon.
Posted by schwitz at March 31, 2008 08:51 AM | TrackBack