Nothing to lose? The benefits of innovative new weight loss treatment ESG

Written in association with: Dr Devinder Bansi
Published:
Edited by: Karolyn Judge

Bariatric surgery for weight loss, more specifically laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG), can have significant benefits to your quality of life, but this technique’s invasive nature comes with complications such as bleeding and leakage.

 

Award-winning gastroenterologist Dr Devinder Bansi discusses how a newer, less-invasive procedure called endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty (ESG), is being introduced into his surgical practise. Read on to find out more.

 

Man holding stomach before having ESG weight loss treatment

 

What is endoscopic sleeve gastroscopy (ESG)?

For the ESG procedure, a special tool is inserted into the stomach via your throat. This tool stitches the stomach wall together to make it smaller, using sutures.

 

It’s reduced in size by around two-thirds, which is around the size of a large banana.  It’s carried out using general anaesthetic.  

 

The sutures are made of a non-absorbable nylon-based material that’s resistant to stomach acid, and remain there indefinitely.

 

After the operation, patients can return to work within four days.

 

 

What are the benefits of ESG?

The consequences of obesity can be heart disease, diabetes, strokes and wear and tear in bones and muscles, resulting in hip and knee replacements.

 

Patients who have this procedure can lose up to 20 per cent of their body weight, which is three stone on average. Some people may lose more.

 

Weight loss of ten per cent is enough to improve diabetes control and protect against:

  • Heart disease
  • Stroke
  • Arthritis
  • Acid reflux
  • Sleep apnoea

 

 

Is the difference between LSG and ESG procedure also beneficial?

With LSG, the stomach is cut and stitched in a way that it becomes a tube. While it reduces stomach volume and shrinks the appetite, one in ten LSG patients become unable to absorb essential nutrients and become reliant on lifelong vitamin injections.

 

With ESG, the stomach isn’t cut so this complication is avoided, and there are no scars.

 

 

Are there any cons to the ESG operation?

Endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty is ineffective in about 20 per cent of patients, like all weight-loss surgery. Despite this, a recent study found more than half of patients have been able to maintain their weight loss five years after the operation.

 

After the operation, appetite is reduced. Due to this, patients are warned that if they eat too much, the stitches can become loose and the stomach returns to its original size.

 

 

Do you have an ESG patient success story?

Businessperson Anita Larson (53) stopped exercising after suffering a spine problem. This led to her relying on steroid doses for the pain but she gained weight as a result.

 

She said: “I tried every diet going, but nothing worked. I just couldn’t shift the weight.”

 

After being one of Dr Bansi’s first patients to undergo this procedure in February last year, she lost five stone.

 

She acknowledges that if she ate badly, it wouldn’t work. It’s important to consider nutrition: “It’s not a magic wand.”

 

She added: “But I don't get cravings, I'm not as hungry and after three mouthfuls I'm full. The weight has steadily gone down, even in lockdown.”

 

 

If you’re interested in endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty, Dr Bansi is offering the operation at BUPA Cromwell Hospital. To arrange a consultation with this leading gastroenterologist, visit his Top Doctors profile.

By Dr Devinder Bansi
Gastroenterology

Dr Devinder Bansi is one of the UK's leading and most experienced gastroenterologists, based in London. Practising at numerous reputable institutions in the capital, he specialises in endoscopy, abdominal pain, bowel problems, cancer screening, liver disease and heartburn

 Dr Bansi earned a Bachelor’s degree in Medicine from Southampton University in 1988 and went on to undertake various junior medical posts. He was awarded a prestigious fellowship in gastroenterology in 1993 from John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford. Upon completion of his MD thesis in 1997, he undertook further advanced training in London. 

Following his training, Dr Bansi was appointed as a consultant gastroenterologist and honorary senior lecturer in Medicine at Hammersmith Hospital and the Royal Postgraduate Medical School, now part of Imperial College. Dr Bansi has over 30 years of experience and performs over 1000 gastroscopies, 700 colonoscopies and over 100 endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatographies (ERCPs) yearly.  

Dr Bansi has been published in numerous peer-reviewed journals and is actively involved in many national and international studies that focus on weight loss using endoscopy rather than surgery. He forms an integral part of many research committees and societies, such as the Hammersmith Hospitals Research Committee, the British Society of Gastroenterology (BSG), the British Association for the Study of Liver Disease (BASL) and the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA). 

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