title: New devices for the bariatric patient.
abstract: Over the past years, the global prevalence of obesity has risen dramatically. This generates enormous costs for the health care system, since obesity is associated with hypertension, diabetes mellitus type 2, coronary heart diseases, stroke, dyslipidemia, psychological problems, and cancer. Bariatric surgery has demonstrated to be the most effective and durable treatment option in the morbidly obese patient. Despite its evidence based efficacy, less than 1% of obese patients will undergo surgery. The role of new, less-invasive devices for the bariatric patient needs to be defined. Are they situated in the gap between lifestyle modification and surgery for the obese patient, in the preoperative work-up of the super-obese patient, in patient groups that are currently excluded for surgery, and/or in the routine treatment of obesity as a chronic disease? This review will focus on emerging technologies for the bariatric patient that are currently in clinical practice or in an advanced development stage, with different modes of action: inducing stretch on the gastric wall (space-occupying or stitching devices), vagal neuromodulation, altering the absorption, or exclusion of the duodenum and proximal jejunum. Exploring the evidence and the indication of different therapeutic approaches and innovations will be an interesting field of research in the near future.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, AZ Sint-Jan AV Brugge, Oostende, Campus Brugge, Brugge, Belgium - Isabelle.Debergh@azsintjan.be.
authors.forename: Isabelle
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Debergh
authors.forename: Christophe
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Snauwaert
authors.forename: Bruno
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Dillemans
mesh_terms: D050110:Bariatric Surgery / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D015992:Body Mass Index; D006801:Humans; D009767:Obesity, Morbid / Q000601:surgery*; D012307:Risk Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome