Lawd! The things we go through to get thin!!

People have been buying up a do-it-yourself gastric bypass kit offered for sale on Amazon.com.  The kit, referred to as a “laparoscopic gastric bypass kit” is manufactured by a company called Medline and has Amazon heads scrambling for an explanation.

Somehow, the item made it online and the mix-up had the comments on Amazon going wild.  Several people had already rated the product, describing how it works and hilariously explaining how to do the surgery yourself!

4.0 out of 5 stars Better instructions, please!, January 15, 2011
By Jon Vandalen (DC, USA)

Unfortunately I managed to get this all screwed up. It should have been clearer that you don’t use all three kits. I ended up doing my stomach, liver and what I believe is a kidney although I don’t have enough medical experience to say for sure. It was very hard to use some of the tools while looking in the various mirrors I had set up. But, I got it done. At one point my wife came in, saw the mess and said I should have called a real doctor. Well, I showed her! I’m now happily eating, drinking and urinating much less. I look forward to trying the next release, the cardiac bypass kit.
165 of 166 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Size 62 to 36 in a weekend!, December 28, 2010
By David M Lewis

Here I was, borderline Guinness Book, and no health insurance. Did I vote democratic? NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I got down to business. The tricky part was anesthesia, but nothing a Mickey’s Big Mouth and a couple of roofies couldn’t handle. Next thing I know, I had a wrap on the old tummy, and I wasn’t hungry! Even for wraps! Trust me, I couldn’t finish a whole mung bean if I wanted to, and I can’t even think about popsicles!
231 of 244 people found the following review helpful

Obviously these reviews are fake! 😆

Amazon has since removed the offending item, which was being sold for $258.95 + shipping & handing, but Doctors are still alarmed that it actually made it online.

VIDEO: Doctors Disturbed By Do-it-Yourself Gastric Bypass Kit Sold Online

A spokesperson for Med-Plus, the distributor that accidentally posted the ad, said that one of their Web designers made the error.

The representative with the company refused to give his name but did say the problem had been resolved.  CBS Atlanta News wanted an explanation of how a medical product, not meant for the public, could possibly end up on Amazon.

They took that question to NeboWeb, an Internet marketing company based in Atlanta, who explained:

“What probably happened is this was set to the wrong permission or the wrong level or something and it went to the wrong audience,” said Adam Harrell, the company President.

“If this went to a medical wholeseller, no one would have any issues. But, it showed up on Amazon. You could have a product intended for adults get pushed to a site where a kid can access it. That’s the nature of the beast.  Anytime you automate a process like that with little review, you can have this happen,” he said.

A spokesperson for Medline told CBS Atlanta News they only manufacture the product and don’t sell it.

“This was a mistake on one of our distributor’s parts,” said John Marks. “This isn’t something you sell to regular people. The main concern is there is no confusion with the general public that this is something they can use.”

Medline and Med-Plus claim that no one actually purchased the kits.  However a distributor listed on Amazon’s website as the seller of the DIY gastric bypass kit told CBS Atlanta News they have more than 200,000 products and have no idea where the items are being sold or what they are selling.

A representative with BerktreeHealth confirmed to CBS Atlanta that Amazon did send them an e-mail verifying the item had been pulled from the site.

CLICK HERE for more hilarious reviews on the DIY gastric bypass product…

(source 1 and 2)