Patent ID: 7981162

Claim:
An apparatus for inducing weight loss in a patient, the apparatus comprising: a pouch adapted to be positioned within an intraoral introduction tool for deployment adjacent the gastro-esophageal junction region within the stomach, the pouch including a flexible wall, and having a proximal opening and a distal opening the wall extends from the proximal opening to the distal opening and prevents passage of food through the sides of the pouch, where the proximal opening has a diameter that is larger than the diameter of the distal opening, where the wall extends between the proximal and distal openings of the pouch and is reinforced by a plurality of ribs, the pouch being proportioned such that when the proximal opening is positioned at the gastro-esophageal junction region of a patient's stomach, the distal opening opens into the proximal stomach such that food from the esophagus passes into the proximal opening, through the pouch and into the proximal stomach, to limit the flow of food from the esophagus into the stomach said pouch having a plurality of discrete, spaced apart apertures positioned around a proximal portion thereof, adjacent the proximal opening; and a plurality of anchors; wherein each anchor of the plurality of anchors is separately attachable between the stomach, adjacent the gastro-esophageal junction region, and an aperture of the plurality of apertures.