G-POEM in Belgium : a retrospective study

Gastroparesis is a condition with a growing incidence and few effective treatments. In recent years, GPOEM has demonstrated its superiority to other existing treatments. We report here on our experience in which 34 patients underwent GPOEM, with 23 patients assessed for symptoms and quality of life before and after the procedure. We measured an average clinical success rate of 73.92% and an excellent risk profile with only two minor complications. The procedure was very well accepted by patients as all would be willing to undergo it again. Patients for whom GPOEM was successful saw a major improvement in their quality of life, which returned to normal, and, for those suffering from reflux, a significant reduction in their PPI treatment. As for the patients for whom the procedure was not a success, we found that they were at high risk of somatization, so screening questionnaires should be considered pre-intervention to screen these patients and avoid unnecessary procedures.

Keywords: gastroparesis, G-POEM, Lengh of procedure, somatization, predictive factors.