Video: Weight loss surgery without cutting

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A nine-pound weight loss in two weeks amazes Carrie Williamson, who's always been overweight.

"I had done Meridia, Weight Watchers. You name it, I did it," she said.

That's why she volunteered to be the first American to undergo a new form of stomach stapling. It's called transoral gastroplasty - or TOGA.

"The thing that's unique about this is that it's all done through the mouth," said Dr. Christopher Eagon.

Surgeons stapled her stomach by passing flexible instruments down her esophagus to the stomach, where a restrictive pouch was created.

"The jaws open up, pull a portion of the stomach into the jaws, and then close it down and fire the stapler and that creates that tubular type of anatomy," said Dr. Eagon.

The small pouch gives the patient a feeling of fullness after a small meal.

"Because you take in so little food, you have to make sure you take enough protein, enough nutrients," said Carrie.

In the pilot study, patients on average lost 40 percent of excess body fat within a year of the procedure. That's slightly less than with gastric bypass, but patients recover more quickly and have fewer complications.

Carrie is now blogging about her experience.

"I had surgery on Wednesday and went back to work on Monday," she said.

The TOGA study is recruiting patients. The two closest sites are in California. You must be at least 100 pounds overweight to qualify.