Gastric plication
Gastric plication is a relatively new weight loss procedure that is gaining popularity in the United States because it is relatively cheap to perform. In Australia, it is less well known.
Why do American surgeons do more gastric plications? Residents in the USA have very expensive health system and without insurance or company cover, any surgery and checkups at the doctor (for blood tests or band adjustments) are expensive to self-fund. Americans do not have access to a health care system equal to our Medicare program for band adjustment or gap payments.
A handful of Australian surgeons are exploring gastric plication but a very big drawback about this procedure is that there appears to be no standardised surgical method yet.
A Queensland surgeon revealed that one of the better indicators for surgical success is that the person complains of bad nausea and loss of appetite immediately post-operatively. In other words, if the person wakes up and feels fine then the surgery wasn't done correctly.
Gastric plication doesn't have much of a track record yet. It is not performed by many surgeons as there are other existing procedures with proven benefit and results.