Endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty offers option for select patients

(HealthDay)—The minimally invasive procedure endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty (ESG) delays gastric emptying, induces early satiation, and successfully results in weight loss, according to a study published in the January issue of Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.

Barham K. Abu Dayyeh, M.D., M.P.H., from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., and colleagues examined the durability and effects of ESG on body weight and gastrointestinal function in a prospective study. Twenty-five obese individuals underwent ESG from September 2012 through March 2015; they were followed for a median of nine months.

The researchers found that at six, nine, 12, and 20 months after the procedure, subjects had lost 53 ± 17 percent, 56 ± 23 percent, 54 ± 40 percent, and 45 ± 41 percent of excess body weight, respectively (P < 0.01). At three months, endoscopy revealed intact gastroplasty in all subjects. Physiological analyses of four patients after ESG showed a 59 percent decrease in caloric consumption to reach maximum fullness (P = 0.003), slowing of gastric emptying of solids (P = 0.03), and a trend toward increased insulin sensitivity (P = 0.06). Serious adverse events were observed in three patients (perigastric inflammatory collection, pulmonary embolism, and small pneumothorax); they made full recoveries without the need for surgical interventions. After the technique was adjusted there were no further serious adverse events.

"ESG delays gastric emptying, induces early satiation, and significantly reduces body weight," the authors write. "ESG could be an alternative to bariatric surgery for selected patients with obesity."

Two authors disclosed financial ties to Apollo Endosurgery, which partially funded the study.