Laparoscopic Magenstrasse and Mill gastroplasty. First results of a prospective study

[Opportunities and challenges of endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty]

Obesity and its complications, such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, nonalcoholic fatty liver, are serious global public health problems. Endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty (ESG) can reduce the length and width of the stomach by simulating the anatomical structure of surgical sleeve gastrectomy to reduce the capacity of the stomach, and is safe and effective to reduce weight. ESG has the advantages of non- invasiveness, no gastrectomy, repeatability, simple operation, no incision scar, few complications, short hospital stay and quick postoperative recovery. As an intermediate means of medical treatment and surgery, ESG provides a new method for weight loss for obese patients who cannot tolerate or are unwilling to undergo surgery. Herein we trace the origin of ESG, analyze the unique advantages of ESG suture, explore the technical improvement in the development of ESG, and briefly describe the weight reduction effect of ESG and compare the curative effect of ESG with laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy. ESG has undergone rapid development and maturity but also faces such challenges as the lack of established standard procedures, unclear weight reduction mechanism, and clarification of the indications for operation. Still, ESG is expected to become the mainstream technique for weight reduction.

Laparoscopic Magenstrasse and Mill Gastroplasty (M&M): Midterm Results

BACKGROUND

The Magenstrasse and Mill gastroplasty (M&M) is a gastric restrictive procedure without band or stomach resection. Short-term evaluation of the laparoscopic procedure showed low morbidity and satisfactory results on weight loss. Evidence of the validity of the technique in the longer term is scarce.

METHODS

Data from patients who underwent M&M procedure from May 2012 to September 2015 were retrospectively reviewed. Preoperative clinical characteristics and data up to 4 years after operation were analyzed.

RESULTS

A total of 132 patients were included in this study with a mean age of 46 ± 13.4 years. The mean body mass index (BMI) at the time of procedure was 43 ± 4.5 kg/m². Mean percentage of excess weight loss (%EWL) was 67, 67, 58, and 57% at 1, 2, 3, and 4 years, respectively. The remission rate for diabetes was 36%. About half of the insulin-dependent patients could stop their insulin treatment. Hypertension was resolved in 33.8% of the patients after 4 years. Incidence of vitamin and mineral deficiency was low throughout the study period, less than or equal to 3% for vitamin B12 and 1% for ferritin. Incidence of gastroesophageal reflux did not exceed 15% during the study. Over 75% of the patients reported a good or very good quality of life following the surgery.

CONCLUSION

These results confirm the validity of M&M as a bariatric procedure. The low incidence of vitamin deficiencies and gastroesophageal reflux might be the important asset of M&M over other existing techniques.