Intraluminal/endoscopic procedures in the treatment of obesity

Publication date: May 2014 Source:Endocrinología y Nutrición (English Edition), Volume 61, Issue 5 Author(s): Antonio Jesús Martínez-Ortega , Alberto Aliaga-Verdugo , José Luis Pereira-Cunill , Ignacio Jiménez-Varo , Ana R. Romero-Lluch , Salvador Sobrino-Rodríguez , Ovidio Belda-Laguna , Pedro Pablo García-Luna Few effective therapeutic tools are currently available to fight the increasing prevalence of obesity and its associated comorbidities. Bariatric surgery is the only treatment with proven long-term effectiveness, but is associated to a high surgical risk and significant economic costs because of its technical complexity and the characteristics of patients. This is leading to development of new endoscopic procedures with less clinical risks and economic costs, while maintaining the benefits in terms of morbidity and mortality, which could even serve as a bridging element before surgery in cases where this is unavoidable, allowing for preoperative weight loss and control of comorbidities in order to improve anesthetic risks and possible complications. The purpose of this review was to analyze the most relevant and promising endoscopic techniques currently available.
Source: Endocrinologia y Nutricion - Category: Endocrinology Source Type: research