Adding Short to Left Gastric Artery Embolization for the Treatment of Obesity: Safety and Effectiveness

Purpose This study assessed the safety and effectiveness of a technical modification that involves adding short gastric artery (SGA) embolization to left gastric artery (LGA) embolization. Material and Methods This retrospective single-center study analyzed twenty obese patients (median age of 53.5 (30-73)) who were not eligible for bariatric surgery and underwent bariatric embolization with 300-500-mu m microspheres in addition to a lifestyle counseling program between March 2021 and July 2022. Eight patients had LGA + SGA embolization, and twelve had LGA embolization alone. The primary outcome measure was total body weight loss (TBWL) at 6 months in the SGA + LGA and the LGA-only cohorts. Safety was assessed, defined as the 30-day adverse events rate according to the SIR classification. Results The mean 6-month post-embolization TBWL in the SGA + LGA cohort was 7.3 kg (95%CI 2.1-12.4; p = .01) and 4.1 kg (95%CI 0.4-8.6; p = 0.034) in the LGA-only cohort (mean difference - 3.1 kg +/- 2.8; 95%CI (- 9.1-2.8); p = .28). The mean 6-month post-embolization TBWL in the entire cohort was 5.3 kg (p < .01). The rate of complications was similar between the two groups. Conclusion Combined SGA and LGA embolization is safe and effective to treat obesity. Larger studies are needed to determine whether SGA + LGA embolization results in more significant weight loss than LGA embolization alone.