Apparatus for treating obesity by extracting food

An apparatus for removing ingested food from a patient's stomach to facilitate weight loss comprising:

• a gastrostomy tube configured for being placed through a patient's abdominal wall via the patient's mouth and esophagus, and further configured for aspirating said ingested food out of the patient's stomach comprising:
• a tubular sidewall comprising a length sufficient to span from the patient's stomach to the patient's abdomen;
• a lumen that is essentially coaxial with the length of the tubular sidewall;
• a distal end portion that is configured to be placed in the patient's stomach and comprises a plurality of holes in the tubular sidewall;
• a first retention member that is attached to the distal end portion of the gastrostomy tube;
• and
• a proximal end portion that is configured to pass through the patient's abdomen and further configured to lie substantially flush with the patient's abdomen when the distal end portion is placed in the patient's stomach;
• and
• a second retention member that is attached to the proximal end portion of the gastrostomy tube when the distal end portion is placed in the patient's stomach, the second retention member being configured to lie substantially flush with the outer surface of the patient's abdomen.