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Endoscopic Sclerotherapy for Weight Loss

Surgical means for promoting weight loss should only be used as a last resort, after diet and exercise have convincingly failed, and there are no other viable options. Although bariatric surgeries are typically well-received, there is always the potential for failure during the procedure. Endoscopic sclerotherapy is a medical procedure used to correct for gastric bypass operations that fail as a result of dilation of either the pouch or the surrounding tissue.

  1. Endoscopic Sclerotherapy

    • Understand the procedure and rationale behind endoscopic sclerotherapy to better decide whether it is something that can help in your weight loss efforts. According to the Bariatric and Laparoscopy Center of Ocala, Florida, endoscopic sclerotherapy is only necessary where the original gastric bypass operation has failed, making it a corrective procedure and not an initial operation when looking for surgically induced weight loss. Gastric bypass acts to facilitate weight loss by artificially limiting the size of the stomach so that the patient cannot consume nearly as much throughout the day as he is accustomed. One method by which the surgery can fail is through the unanticipated or unintended expansion of the pouch itself or the surrounding tissue in the digestive tract. This expansion acts to undermine the efficacy of the surgery by allowing the patient to continue consuming excessive amounts of food, as the larger area provided by the expansion allows for food to pass through the digestive tract at an accelerated rate. Endoscopic sclerotherapy acts to correct this situation. During endoscopic sclerotherapy, the abdominal area will be visually examined through the use of an endoscopy, followed by the injection of a "sclerosing" chemical. This chemical will force the body to create scar tissue, artificially decreasing the width of the digestive tract, once again slowing the rate of digestion.

    Evidence and Considerations

    • According to a study published in the December 2007 issue of the journal Surgery for Obesity and Related Disease, endoscopic sclerotherapy is effective at correcting for a failed gastric bypass. The procedure itself is performed on an outpatient basis, requiring only 30 minutes and no hospital stay or prolonged recovery period. You need not even miss work after an endoscopic sclerotherapy, as you can be cleared to go back to your job the following day. According to the Bariatric and Laparoscopy Center of Ocala, the operation itself has a 74 percent efficacy rating, which means that 74 percent of patients either maintained or lost weight following this procedure.

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