Human experience with an endoluminal, endoscopic, gastrojejunal bypass sleeve

This report describes the authors’ experience with a unique endoluminal, endoscopically delivered and retrieved gastroduodenojejunal bypass sleeve, including short-term weight loss and changes in comorbidities.

A prospective, single-center trial was designed. The patients were morbidly obese individuals who met the National Institutes of Health criteria for bariatric surgery. The device used was a unique gastroduodenojejunal bypass sleeve secured at the esophagogastric junction with endoscopic and laparoscopic techniques and designed to create an endoluminal gastroduodenojejunal bypass. At completion of the trial, the device was explanted with endoscopic retrieval. The primary end points were safety and incidence of adverse events. The secondary outcomes included the percentage of excess weight loss and changes in comorbidities, specifically glucose control, use of antihyperglycemic medications, and changes in hemoglobin A1c levels.

From July 2008 to February 2010, 24 patients were enrolled in the trial. The gastroduodenojejunal bypass sleeve was implanted, left in situ, and then retrieved. The 7 men and 17 women in the study had a mean preoperative body mass index of 42 kg/m². The device was successfully delivered in 22 of the 24 patients (92%) and retrieved endoscopically from all 22 patients in whom it was implanted (100%). Two patients were excluded from the study preprocedurally. The one patient was excluded preoperatively due to noncompliance with the preoperative liquid diet. For the other excluded patient, the device was not attempted endoscopically due to significant inflammation at the gastroesophageal junction at the time of laparoscopic evaluation. Of the 22 patients who had the device implanted, 17 maintained it (77%) and completed the full 12-week trial. These patients had 39.7% excess weight loss at completion of the study. The primary reason for early explantation of the device was early postoperative dysphagia. The seven patients with preoperative diabetes mellitus all had normal blood glucose levels throughout the trial, and none required antihyperglycemic medications. All four patients with elevated hemoglobin A1c levels preoperatively showed improvement by the end of the trial.

This trial demonstrated that the endoluminal gastroduodenojejunal sleeve can achieve excellent weight loss at 12 weeks. No patient safety issues were encountered. Adverse effects were minimal and resolved at endoscopic device removal. Effective glycemic control was demonstrated through use of the device during the trial. Long-term results are needed.