Endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty in the management of overweight and obesity: an international multicenter study.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Obesity is a pandemic affecting approximately 700 million adults worldwide, with an additional 2 billion overweight. Endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty (ESG) is a minimally invasive endoscopic bariatric therapy that involves remodeling of the greater curvature in an effort to reduce gastric capacity and delay gastric emptying. A variety of ESG suture patterns has been reported. This study is the first to use a uniform "U" stitch pattern across all centers to simplify technical aspects of the procedure and limit cost. This also uniquely assessed outcomes in all body mass index (BMI) categories and changes in metabolic rate, lean body mass, and adipose tissue composition. METHODS: This is a multicenter analysis of prospectively collected data from 7 centers including patients with overweight and obesity who underwent ESG. Primary outcomes included absolute weight loss, percent total body weight loss (%TWL), change in BMI, and percent excess weight loss (%EWL) at 6 and 12 months in overweight and obese classes I, II, and III. Secondary outcomes included adipose tissue, lean body mass reduction, and metabolic rate analyzed by bioimpedance. Additionally, immediate or delayed adverse events (AEs) were analyzed. Clinical success was defined as achieving ≥25% EWL at 1 year with ≤5% serious AE (SAE) rate following the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE)/American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) threshold. RESULTS: A total of 193 patients underwent ESG during the study period. All groups had >10% TWL and >25% EWL at 6 months of follow-up. On average, %TWL was 14.25% ± 5.26% and 15.06% ± 5.22% and the %EWL 56.15% ± 22.93% and 59.41% ± 25.69% at 6 months and 1 year of follow-up, respectively. %TWL was 8.91% ± .3%, 13.92% ± 5.76%, 16.22% ± 7.69%, and 19.01% ± .95% and %EWL 56.21% ± 2.0%, 62.03% ± 27.63%, 54.13% ± 23.46%, and 46.78% ± 2.43% for overweight and obesity classes I, II, and III, respectively, at 1 year. Male sex, age <41 years, and higher BMI were predictors of achieving a TWL ≥10% at 1-year follow-up. There was a significant reduction in adipose tissue from baseline. SAEs occurred in 1.03%, including 2 perigastric collections needing surgery. CONCLUSIONS: ESG appears to be feasible, safe, and effective in the treatment of patients with overweight and obesity according to ASGE/ASMBS thresholds.

Modifying an Intragastric Balloon for the Treatment of Obesity: a Unique Approach.

INTRODUCTION: The use of intragastric balloons (IGB) for the treatment of obesity has been increasing significantly, with data confirming its effectiveness with low complication rates. Adjustable balloons are not widely available for use in all countries, including the USA. In this video, we demonstrate a unique technique in which a conventional nonadjustable balloon is modified to an adjustable balloon to improve weight loss. METHODS: A 35-year-old woman with a BMI of 36.1 kg/m2 (84.4 kg) who had failed prior medical therapy for obesity presented for IGB placement. After discussion with the patient, including risks and benefits, a conventional IGB modified to a novel adjustable IGB was placed. RESULTS: In this primary experience, we describe the use of a conventional IGB modified to an adjustable balloon. First, during balloon placement, an initial 500 ml of saline was instilled. At one-month follow-up, the patient only experienced 3.67%TBWL; thus, the balloon was adjusted with the addition of 160 ml of saline through the newly created modification catheter. At a 2-month follow-up, a second adjustment was performed with the addition of 180 ml, for a total of 840 ml. At 4 months, patient experienced 10% TBWL and decreased in BMI by 3.6 kg/m2. No adverse events were reported. CONCLUSION: The transformation of a nonadjustable balloon into an adjustable balloon is feasible and effective in weight loss. This technique may be an alternative in cases where adjustable balloon is not available. Further studies are warranted to confirm the safety and efficacy of this novel device.