Many questions circulate on the web about SLEEVE GASTRECTOMY and ENDOSCOPIC SLEEVE, causing a certain confusion.
IN FACT ALL OPPOSES THESE TWO METHODS:
1) SLEEVE GASTRECTOMY is a surgical intervention which removes or resects (ectomy means ablation, thus appendectomy means ablation of the appendix) most of the stomach by laparoscopy, so at the end of a sleeve gastrectomy it does not more than a stomach tube or sleeve.
This intervention is performed by a bariatric surgeon qualified for this technique in a Clinic and an entourage perfectly qualified for this intervention. It is final, very well codified, its results are excellent subject to nutritionist monitoring. Its only drawback remains the risk of leakage or fistula, but the decline is now more than 20 years and this very rare complication is now treated in general without re-intervention.
Finally, the intervention is reimbursed by Social Security under certain conditions.
2) The ENDOSCOPIC SLEEVE is not performed by a surgeon but by a Gastroenterologist. It does not remove the stomach, but folds it from the inside using an instrument inserted through the mouth. The procedure decreases the volume of the stomach by gathering the wall, a bit like a curtain that is gathered to reduce its length.
This operation is not supported by Social Security. It follows the intra gastric balloon and is likely, if the future shows favorable results, for the same patients.
The Endoscopic Sleeve (properly speaking "endoscopic gastric plication") is currently practiced mainly in university centers as part of a study to assess its effectiveness and is reserved for obesity patients who do not have the right to bariatric surgery (BMI of 30 to 35).
It should be known that gastric plication is also performed by laparoscopic surgery, but scientific studies have shown a rate of complications comparable to Sleeve Gastrectomy and results in terms of weight loss in the short and medium terms less satisfactory.