Wiring the teeth is an effective method of limiting food intake to liquids. Further, many patients cannot tolerate the psychological effect of being unable to open their mouths and some patients do not have adequate teeth to permit the wiring.
Surgery is currently the most effective treatment for morbid obesity.
One of the most accepted procedures is the Greenville Gastric Bypass. Other operations are being tested elsewhere including some which include removal of parts of the stomach and others, which wrap plastic belts around the stomach. None of these, however, seem to be as effective or as safe as the operation now being performed here. There is an operation which is used in many other areas in the country called the Vertical Branded Gastroplasty. This procedure is noted for being somewhat simpler to perform than the gastric bypass with potentially fewer complications i.e. vitamin deficiencies.