Radical weight loss! Plastic sheet sewn into tongue to reduce appetite

Ninety percent of the reasons for weight loss failure are because it is difficult to resist the delicious food in front of you. Even if you seal your mouth with tape, you usually still can't resist the temptation. Because of this, an extremely drastic weight loss method has recently emerged in the United States and Venezuela. It involves sewing a postage-stamp-sized piece of plastic onto the tongue, causing unbearable pain when ingesting solid food, so the person can only swallow liquid food. This can help people lose 30 pounds (13.6 kg) in one month.

This drastic weight loss method originated from California, USA. It involves sewing a film on the tongue to make it difficult for the person to swallow, and the person can only drink liquid food to lose weight. (Photo/taken from the American magazine TIME)

Film suture on tongue for 1 month

According to a report by TIME magazine, this weight loss remedy was invented by Nikolas Chugay, a plastic surgeon in Beverly Hills, California, in 2009. He used a material called marlex, which is also used to make hula hoops, to make a postage stamp-sized film, which was then sewn onto the tongue with six stitches. This makes the user feel excruciating pain when swallowing food, causing them to lose their appetite.

Doctors will also stipulate that users can only consume about 800 calories of liquid food per day, which can allow people to lose about 13.6 kilograms in just one month. However, this weight loss method has many side effects and has not been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This film can only stay on the tongue for one month, otherwise it will merge with the tongue tissue and it will be difficult to remove it in the future. In addition, the tongue may become so painful and swollen that you cannot speak or suffer from insomnia.

Extreme weight loss methods are risky, so don’t try them lightly

This surgery costs US$2,000 (NT$60,000) at a plastic surgery clinic in California, but only US$150 in Venezuela. Venezuela has long been a place where many drastic weight loss methods are popular. In the past, there have been reports of the abuse of methods such as insulin injections and emetic syrups. This is mainly because the local objectification of women is serious, which leads to local women doing everything they can to improve their appearance and figure.

Although the patch treatment only takes about a month and is not as risky as gastric bypass surgery or medication, Brian Evans, a doctor at another plastic surgery clinic in Beverly Hills, still expressed doubts about the method. Implanting foreign objects in the body can easily cause infection or rejection, and people should not try it lightly unless it has been carefully tested and approved.