Endoscopic Sleeve Gastroplasty (ESG) is more effective than lifestyle modifications alone for weight loss and improving obesity-related comorbidities. While it has less effect on weight loss compared to Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy (LSG) in the short to medium term, it offers similar comorbidities resolution to LSG.

The safety profile of ESG is consistently supported in the literature. Surgical complications after ESG, ranging from 1.5 to 2.3%, such as bleeding, perforation, fistula, or upper bowel obstruction, are rare and typically managed endoscopically. The incidence of new-onset gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD) is deemed negligible and occurs less frequently after ESG compared to SG.

Multidisciplinary care for patients undergoing ESG should be provided in an accredited center authorized to perform bariatric and metabolic surgery, with validation through a multidisciplinary consultation meeting (RCP). Perioperative management should be personalized and ideally modeled after the protocols already in place for bariatric and metabolic surgery to ensure satisfactory and lasting weight and metabolic outcomes. Adherence to follow-up visits is a significant predictor of successful weight loss outcomes after ESG. Additionally, all endoscopic surgical procedures should be documented in a registry affiliated with a recognized scientific society, as is standard for other bariatric surgical procedures.

ESG must be performed by a practitioner trained in endoscopy and obesity management, capable of ensuring thorough preoperative care and comprehensive postoperative follow-up, supported by an experienced multidisciplinary team. In France, Notice No. 2021.0040/AC/SEAP of June 10, 2021, issued by the Haute Autorité de santé (HAS) college, specifies that “the technology of ESG via the trans-oral approach, involving wide plication of the greater gastric curvature […] with an endoscopic suture placement device, enables a gastroenterologist or a visceral and digestive surgeon to perform gastric plication through digestive endoscopy by placing sutures in the stomach”. Ideally, this should take place in an accredited center authorized to perform bariatric and metabolic surgery, such as those approved by the Agence régionale de santé (ARS), in accordance with Article R6123-212 of December 2022 of the French Public Health Code.

ESG is an integral part of the therapeutic arsenal available to bariatric and metabolic surgeons, offering an effective and valuable treatment option for obesity in specific patient populations. The International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity (IFSO) Bariatric Endoscopy Committee, following a comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis, endorsed ESG as an effective and valuable treatment for obesity. ESG is particularly beneficial for patients with class I and II obesity, as well as for those with class III obesity who are not suitable candidates for metabolic bariatric surgery. Additionally, it can be proposed as an addition to lifestyle interventions in adolescent patients with class II obesity. The SOFFCOMM endorses endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty (ESG) as an effective and valuable treatment for obesity and highlights the importance of appropriate patient selection, coupled with rigorous evaluation of long-term outcomes, to refine its indications further.