CLINICAL OUTCOMES OF LEFT GASTRIC ARTERY EMBOLIZATION FOR MANAGEMENT OF OBESITY: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF POST INTERVENTIONAL …

Background: Obesity and overweight have become a global epidemic affecting people of different ages. Some people face the problem of being overweight since childhood, and many of them become obese over time under the influence of factors such as improper nutrition and sedentary life style. Embolization of the left gastric artery is a new method suggested for management of obesity based on targeting the appetite of an obese person.

Objectives: The purpose of this systematic review is to evaluate the outcomes and risks of interventional left gastric artery embolization to manage obesity.

Methods: In this study, Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) guideline has been used for study design, search strategy, screening and reporting. A systematic search was performed using all available MeSH terms and free keywords in PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science databases and Google Scholar search engine. ROBINS-I tool was used for quality assessment.

Results: The mean weight reduction at 3-month post-op were 8.28 ± 7.3 in one study19. This number was 6.22 ± 3.6 kg 23, 10.42 ± 8.21 kg 19, 6 ± 12 kg 20 and 20.3lbs 18 at 6-month post-intervention. The 12-month weight loss was ranged from 13 kg 20 to 7.4 kg 21 between studies reported. An absolute weight loss of 13 kg after 24-month was also reported in the follow-up study by Pirlet et al. 22 and 17.2 % average excess weight reduction in 6 months by Syed et al.18. The studies have reported minor complications as deep gastric ulcer (n = 2), puncture site thrombosis (n = 1), superficial linear ulceration (n = 4), and subclinical pancreatitis (n = 1) which were all managed with no further complications.

Conclusions: Interventional LGA embolization could be a suitable solution for patients with BMI higher than 30, with lowest possible complications.