Everyone likes to keep fit, and no one likes to have extra fat on their body. Maintaining an ideal weight or shedding off the extra pounds has always been desired by one and all, but it has never been easy. The San Angelo standard times now claims that the newest trend in the weight reduction process is inserting surgical staples in ears instead of exercising or taking in diet pills. Though this method of weight reduction has been proved neither medically nor scientifically, several residents from Concho Valley claim that they have lost weight after such treatments.

Dick Spurger, a Grape Creek resident, who has his ear stapled at Staple Magic in San Angelo in April, came down from weighing 310 to 260, hence losing 50 pounds after losing his appetite. Many patients reported having their ears stapled, a bit painful. Creel Goodman, who is 30, reported the procedure to be painful, though not unbearable. Though he hadn’t lost any weight, he felt a lot better after the treatment. His wife, Hannah Goodman of San Angelo, 27, who also had her ears stapled on the same day lost about 3 pounds, 3 days after going through the treatment.

This procedure had left many of the medical practitioners cynical as it is a form of acupuncture. Dr. Drew Wallace, chiropractor and acupuncturist, said that it helps suppress the eating appetite. He included that for it to be done effectively, there usually needs to be some form of a diet as if it is not done with some lifestyle changes, they results are going to be short termed only. Dr. Monty Wright, chiropractor and acupuncturist at Wright Chiropractic in San Angelo, does not perform ear stapling because he feels that it only reduces people's cravings and not weight.

Ear stapling is not recognized as a legitimate medical activity, according to the Department of State Health Services, Austin. Tom Brinck, the department's manager of Drugs and Medical Devices Group, said the equipment used - a surgical stapler and surgical staples - are prescription type devices that should be bought and owned by licensed medical practitioners.

Staple Magic, 2808 Sherwood Way, owned by Ronnie Carter and his wife, Mary Carter, specializes in performing this kind of a procedure. Ronnie Carter and Mary Carter were trained in Oklahoma. For $65 they will put staples in both ears. Ronnie Carter said they staple about 150 people a month, ranging in age from teens to senior citizens. According to Carter, results can be seen within a week and if they take care of the insertions properly, infections are unlikely. “It doesn't work for everybody, but it works for a lot of people”, Carter concluded.