Importance

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Abstract

In the treatment of morbid obesity or heartburn and reflux disease an elongated restriction member (12) is formed in a substantially closed loop around a human's stomach or esophagus to form a stoma opening in the stomach or esophagus. The size of the stoma opening is adjustable by an implanted adjustment device. A control device (22) is utilized to control the adjustment device, in order to either reduce or enlarge the size of the stoma opening, for example in response to the time of the day. Nausea in a treated obese human can be minimized or substantially eliminated as a result of the control device controlling the adjustment device to keep the stoma opening substantially fully open between meals (such as at night when the human is sleeping). A sensor (23), such as a pressure or position sensor, is surgically implanted in the human's body so that the sensor may either directly or indirectly sense a physical parameter of the human, such as the pressure in the stomach or the human's orientation with respect to the horizontal. If in response to sensing by the sensor it is determined by the control device that a significant change in the physical parameter has occurred, then the control device controls the adjustment device to either reduce or enlarge the size of the stoma opening.

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First Claim