Totally endoscopic implant to effect a gastric bypass: 12-month safety and efficacy outcomes

Only a small percentage of candidates for bariatric surgery ever undergo a procedure for weight loss. Devices duplicating key effects of bariatric surgeries with removable, fully trans-oral implants could extend their benefits to patients unwilling to undergo anatomy-altering abdominal surgeries.

Thirty-two obese subjects (mean BMI: 42.3) were enrolled in a prospective, multicenter, single-arm, feasibility trial of the first fully trans-oral endoscopic gastrointestinal bypass device. The device is a cuff attached to the distal esophagus by transmural anchors and connected to a 120-cm sleeve diverting undigested nutrients to the jejunum. Bodyweight, vital signs, adverse events, medications, HbA1c, fasting glucose, and lipids were collected at baseline and follow-up visits. Device status was endoscopically assessed every 6 months.

The fully trans-oral procedure was successful in all subjects without intraoperative adverse events or postoperative infections. Twenty-eight of 32 subjects (88%) remained implanted with continuing follow-up beyond their 12-month visit. At 12 months, the 32 subjects had lost an average of 44.8% of excess body weight, 17.6% of total body weight, 20.8 kg, and 7.5 BMI points. Weight loss depended on capture of ingesta by the esophageal cuff, with 18 of 32 subjects without visible gaps around their cuffs at the 6 month endoscopy having significantly greater EWL (53.6 vs. 33.4% in the remaining subjects, p < 0.002). Mean HbA1c and fasting glucose declined by 1.1% points and 29 mg/dL in type 2 diabetic subjects, 80% of whom had remission of their diabetes at 12 months.

This study demonstrates the feasibility, safety, and efficacy of a fully trans-oral gastrointestinal bypass implant. This purely endoscopic device may provide a valuable addition to the armamentarium of treatment available for the management of morbid obesity.