The Long Magenstrasse with pyloroplasty as functional gastric bypass: 6-years experience, 308 operations

Background: The Long Magenstrasse with py-loroplasty as functional Gastric Bypass (briefly LMGBP) procedure for morbid obesity may re- duce the incidence of side effects associated with gastric restrictive and malabsorptive sur- gery, particularly on quality of life and long-term nutritional insufficiency. In follow-up to pre- liminary findings in 34 patients, we report the results of an additional 274 LMGBPs performed over the past 3 years. Methods: Between October 2003 and 2009, 308 patients were treated with the LMGBP. 149 patients underwent open procedures;74, hand-assisted laparoscopic surgery (HALS);and 85 were operated laparo-scopically. 17% had ≥ 125 mg/dl glycemia, 43% sleep apnea, 38% hyperlipidemia, 12% hyperuricemia, and 58% arterial hypertension under treatment. Results: The mean BMI of 256 pre-operatively normoglycemic patients at 1 year was 29 (range 26-31);27 (25-30) in 45 patients at 3 years;and 27.5 (26-30) in 12 patients at 5 years. Mean BMI of 53 preoperatively hyperglycemic patients (≥ 125 mg/dl) at 1 year (21 patients) was 32 (29-34), and at 3 years (9 patients), 32.5 (30- 33). 15 patients with preoperative type 2 diabetes under oral treatment required no therapy 3-6 months after surgery. Patients reported considerable appetite reduction with rapid satiety but maintained good nutrition with no supplementation. There was no mortality. Conclusions: Safe and effective sustained weight loss, positive metabolic changes, and appetite diminution with rapid satiety were seen after LMGBP.

Gastric per-oral endoscopic myotomy:Indications,technique,results and comparison with surgical approach

Gastroparesis is a chronic disease of the stomach that causes a delayed gastric emptying,without the presence of a stenosis.For 30 years the authors identified pylorospasm as one of the most important pathophysiological mechanisms determining gastroparesis.Studies with EndoFLIP,a device that assesses pyloric distensibility,increased the knowledge about pylorospasm.Based on this data,several pyloric-targeted therapies were developed to treat refractory gastroparesis:Surgical pyloroplasty and endoscopic approach,such as pyloric injection of botulinum and pyloric stenting.Notwithstanding,the success of most of these techniques is still not complete.In 2013,the first human gastric per-oral endoscopic myotomy(GPOEM)was performed.It was inspired by the POEM technique,with a similar dissection method,that allows pyloromyotomy.Therapeutical results of GPOEM are similar to surgical approach in term of clinical success,adverse events and post-surgical pain.In the last 8 years GPOEM has gained the attention of the scientific community,as a minimally invasive technique with high rate of clinical success,quickly prevailing as a promising therapy for gastroparesis.Not surprisingly,in referral centers,its technical success rate is 100%.One of the main goals of recent studies is to identify those patients that will respond better to the therapies targeted on pylorus and to choose the better approach for each patient.