Endoscopic Gastric Plication: A Flexible and Tailored Alternative to Bariatric Surgery.

Introduction: Endoscopic procedures are expanding and have been evolving in recent years, increasing their volume along with the development of new devices. This is due to the low morbidity and complication rate, the reversibility of the procedures, and the positive impact on patients. Among the endoscopic procedures gaining interest is sleeve gastroplasty. It emerged as a feasible and safe alternative to traditional bariatric surgery. There are no guidelines available on the indications and use of endoscopic gastroplasty. The aim of this study is to present preliminary results of a case series of endoscopic gastric plication procedures performed for different options: as a primary endoscopic sleeve, as revision for sleeve gastrectomy, and as revision for gastric bypass.

Materials and methods: A retrospective analysis was performed on a prospective database collecting data on all patients with obesity treated with endoscopic gastroplasty with the Overstitch™ (Apollo Endosurgery, Inc., Austin, Texas) device from 2022 to 2023 in the bariatric surgery unit.

Results: Twenty-three patients were treated from May 2022 to July 2023 with endoscopic gastric plication. Ten patients (43%) were submitted to primary endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty, three patients to revision of sleeve gastrectomy, one patient to revision of one anastomosis gastric bypass, and eight patients received a revision of Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. The body mass index (BMI) of patients submitted to primary ESG ranged from 33 to 42kg/m2, with a mean BMI of 37kg/m2. The age of the patients ranged from 22 to 70 years, with a mean age of 45. In one case, we registered a Clavien-Dindo 2 complication-an inflammatory perigastric reaction without a collection occurred 15 days after a primary ESG.

Conclusion: Endoscopic gastric plication is emerging as a safe, mini-invasive, and effective procedure alternative to sleeve gastrectomy in patients with I or II class obesity or for those unfit for bariatric surgery. The endoscopic suturing device can be used both as a primary procedure or as a revisional option after failure of the primary surgery, thus proving to be a versatile option to provide to bariatric patients.