DIY Gastric Bypass Kit Appears On Amazon
CHICAGO (CBS/WBBM) -- A do-it-yourself gastric bypass surgery kit somehow popped up for sale on Amazon.com Monday.
As WBBM Newsradio 780's Lisa Fielding reports, the Chicago-based company that makes it is still trying to figure out how it got there.
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For $264, the kit provides everything a surgeon might need to perform a gastric bypass, a procedure which normally costs the patient tens of thousands of dollars.
Chicago-based Medline spokesman John Marks says in no way was the kit ever meant for sale.
"It is mistaken that it is on Amazon," Marks said. "The company that we sold it to made a mistake by putting it on Amazon."
Marks says the product is only meant for hospitals and operating rooms. If you purchased it, he says you should return it immediately.
KIRO-AM radio in Seattle reports that it not known whether anyone actually bought the kit, and most of the 38 reviews on the site actually poked fun at the very notion of a do-it-yourself gastric bypass operation.
"This is an awesome product," one reviewer joked. "I have performed my first two bypasses using this kit (on myself of course), and I have lost over 200 pounds. There was some initial bleeding that occurred, and I needed to be rushed to the emergency room due to 'severe internal hemorrhaging' but the three week stay was well worth the cost I saved by doing my own bypass."
Another reviewer created a story about attempting to conduct a do-it-yourself gastric bypass operation with her boyfriend, Roger.
"With two pillows propped under his head, he grasped the scalpel purposefully and began to make the first incision. He didn't scream out, as enough painkillers to down an elephant were coursing through his veins. The incision was perfect, even, smooth, and he drew the blade slowly, opening the flesh... And that's when the dog jumped on the bed," the reviewer wrote. "I miss you, Roger."
The kit is still listed on Amazon, but is marked "unavailable."
