ANALYSIS OF THE PERFORMANCE OF THE ENDOSCOPIC TREATMENT OF OBESITY WITH INTRAGASTRIC BALLOON. IS THE SECOND HOUR OF GASTRIC EMPTYING THE CRUCIAL FACTOR?

Aims:

Morbid obese Patients are treated very efficiently by the various Bariatric surgery techniques, while overweight patients have good results with drug interventions and changes in lifestyle. For the patients who are at the intersection of these two strategies, the endoscopic treatment of obesity with the intragastric balloon is a very interesting and widely used alternative.

Understanding the mechanism of action of intragastric balloon is an important research factor for better use of the method. Changing the rate of gastric emptying is one of the probable hypotheses of function of the accessory during the treatment.

Methods:

Twenty patients were retrospectively evaluated for weight loss performance immediately after IGB withdrawal and six months afterwards. The velocity of gastric emptying was measured before and after IGB implantation by scintigraphy. The relationship between gastric motility alteration and final weight loss was also examined.

Results:

The sample consisted of adults, with a mean age of 34.19 ± 6.16 years (minimum age: 23 years, maximum age: 48 years). The mean weight loss between before IGB placement and immediately after IGB removal (16.68 ± 5.71 kg, p < 0.01), before and after six months of IGB withdrawal (14.42 ± 6.65 kg, p < 0.01), and between IGB withdrawal and six months of follow-up (2.47 ± 4.07 kg, p = 0.02) were significant. There was a significant increase between the mean retention of the test meal (%) post-implant of the BIG for the analyzes of 1h (Before: 71.6 ± 14.12, After: 86.2 ± 21.89, p = 0.02) and 2h (28.1 ± 16.99, 67.99 ± 29.32, p < 0.01).

Conclusions:

IGB treatment is efficient in the treatment of obesity grade I and II, promoting an important decrease in gastric emptying speed during the use of the accessory, especially on the second hour collaborating to the fullness sensation between meals.