According to a report published in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty could be a viable alternative to bariatric surgery for some obese patients.
Here's what you should know.
1. ESG can delay gastric emptying, induce early satiation and reduce body weight.
2. Although bariatric surgery is the most effective surgical option, patients have limited access to it because of the surgery's risks and associated costs.
3. ESG uses a full-thickness endoscopic suturing device to reduce the gastric reservoir. Patients require general anesthesia and occasionally an overnight observational stay.
4. In a clinical trial, 25 obese individuals underwent ESG with "endoluminal creation of a sleeve along the gastric lesser curve and were followed for a media period of nine months."
5. Researchers found that the subjects lost 53 percent ± 17 percent of excess body weight six months after the procedure, and maintained a 45 percent ± 41 percent loss 20 months after the procedure.
6. Patients did experience significant delays — up to 90 minutes — in gastric emptying, however.
7. The researchers concluded "for endoscopic bariatric therapy to have a meaningful effect on obesity, it should reach a threshold of efficacy that is balanced with risk and cost of the intervention."