A new weight-loss procedure has been given the green light for NHS-use after it was deemed safe and effective by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).
Known as endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty (ESG), the minimally invasive treatment takes up to 90 minutes to complete and has proven to be effective at helping people lose significant amounts of body weight during clinical trials.
ESG involves a surgeon folding and stitching together sections of the stomach, leaving it reduced in size and resembling a tube-like sleeve.
The goal of the procedure is to reduce the overall volume of the stomach and thus limit the amount of food which can be eaten at once, as the person is satiated sooner.
Approximately one in four (25.9%) adults in England are obese while nearly two in five are overweight, according to the 2021 health survey for England. It is estimated that obesity costs the NHS £6.5bn a year and is the second biggest preventable cause of cancer.
Draft NICE guidance recommends ESG in conjunction with lifestyle changes for people with a BMI over 30, who have not lost weight via changing their lifestyle alone. Eligibility also hinges on people not being suitable for (or not wanting) bariatric surgery.
“One of the benefits is that this procedure can be carried out as a day case, and not involve an overnight stay, reducing the time people spend in hospital compared with other surgical options,” explained NICE’s chief medical officer, Professor Jonathan Benger. “Recovery is also quicker.”
ESG should only be carried out in specialist centres by clinicians with specific training and experience of the treatment, according to NICE. Patients should be selected by a similarly experienced multidisciplinary team.
Details surrounding those having ESG should be submitted to the national bariatric surgery registry.
A consultation on the draft guidelines has begun and will run until Thursday 26 October 2023.
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