Dr. Petti Featured as Expert on 20/20

Recently, Dr. Christine Petti was featured on ABC’s weekly program 20/20 as a medical expert commenting on a frightening new weight loss procedure. According to the report, “The Naked Truth: Tongue Patch Diet,” a tongue patch is a small piece of plastic mesh that is surgically attached to a patient’s tongue for thirty days as a way to allegedly “train” them to break their habit of overeating. The report explains that the patch uses pain to prevent patients from eating solid food. If the patient attempts to eat, the patch will inflict pain, causing them to stop. Patients are expected to go on a strict low-calorie liquid diet while the patch is attached, and they will supposedly be deterred from “cheating” because of the pain caused by the patch.

When asked by 20/20 for her opinion on this strange new weight loss technique, Dr. Petti said, “I think it’s ridiculous […] I could never advise a procedure that would cause a patient pain.” Dr. Petti, along with other medical professionals, stress that this procedure is not recommended, and will likely not be effective for long-term weight loss. Dr. Petti urges patients to look into healthier methods for weight loss that do not intentionally cause pain and to seek consultation from a board certified medical doctor who advises simple, common sense and natural methods as the first line of action for weight control.

Click the image below to view the 20/20 segment in its entirety. For more information about our plastic surgeon, Dr. Christine Petti, please contact our practice today.

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