Laparoscopic Gastric Plication Surgery

What is Laparoscopic Gastric Plication Surgery?

Gastric plication surgery is a relatively recent obesity treatment procedure that is similar to sleeve gastrectomy. The stomach is folded in the form of a sleeve or a banana, which reduces the amount of food intake. Unlike sleeve gastrectomy, it does not involve removing part of the stomach

The size of the stomach is reduced during the laparoscopic gastric plication operation using surgical sutures, where the front wall of the stomach is sutured to the back wall in several layers, which leads to the reduction of the stomach cavity and its size without any cutting of the stomach.

Since gastric plication surgery does not have a bypass like gastric bypass, it does not reduce the absorption of nutrients like vitamins and minerals. You will feel the need to eat less food, allowing you to lose excess weight more easily. The operation can also be reversed, and the stomach can be returned to normal within a year of the operation without any complications. Gastric plication surgery is still an investigational procedure and is still under research.

After the operation, the amount of food you will eat will be less due to the small size of the stomach. This will enable you to lose weight at a faster rate and help you make the change towards a healthier lifestyle.

Who is the ideal patient for Laparoscopic Gastric Plication Surgery

Gastric plication surgery is suitable for people who suffer from both first-degree obesity and second-degree obesity (BMI from 30 to 40 kg/m2) and have completely failed to reach their ideal weight by following diets. It is not suitable for those suffering from extreme (morbid) obesity (a body mass index of more than 40 kg/m2) as it causes a lower rate of weight loss than other obesity surgeries such as sleeve gastrectomy.

Gastric plication surgery may be an option for people who cannot undergo other obesity surgeries due to the various risks involved. Prior consultation with your surgeon can help determine whether gastric plication surgery is right for you

Advantages of the gastric plication operation

• It does not remove any parts of the stomach.
• It does not reduce the absorption of food.
• It does not add any foreign bodies to the stomach.
• No staplers are needed.
• The operation is reversible (for a certain period).
• It greatly reduces food intake

Disadvantages of the gastric plication surgery

• . May cause long-term nausea (up to a month after surgery)
• It may cause less weight loss than other obesity operations.
• Still an experimental surgery.
• is rare. The risk of gastric leakage
• After surgery, you will need to follow your doctor’s instructions: You will only be allowed to drink fluids for at least a week, then it will be allowed in the following two weeks to drink thicker liquids such as yogurt, custard, and jelly, and then eat semi-soft food for a week. After 4 weeks you can eat regular food, in which your meals will be smaller than your meals before the surgery due to the small size of your stomach, and weight loss will begin steadily.

There are two methods of performing gastric plication surgery

Using a laparoscopy (Laparoscopic Gastric Plication)

• Using a laparoscope such as the one used in the sleeve gastrectomy operation.
• It is performed through small incisions(openings) in the abdominal wall.
• It is performed under general anesthesia.
• The size of the stomach is smaller compared to the size of the stomach after the endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty.
• The rate of weight loss is higher than the endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty.

Using a gastroscopy (Endoscopic Sleeve Gastroplasty)

• It is performed through the mouth.
• It is performed under general anesthesia.
• The size of the stomach is larger compared to the size of the stomach after the laparoscopic gastric plication surgery. 
• The rate of weight loss is less than the laparoscopic gastric plication surgery. 
• Its cost is very high.

Medical research on 1000 patients who had gastric plication using gastroscopy (Endoscopic Sleeve astroplasty) was published in 2018, and it was found that the total weight loss is only about 15% within 12 months. The results of gastric plication surgery in losing weight are much less than sleeve gastrectomy or the gastric bypass surgery