BEAM for Weight Loss - a Pilot Study

Bariatric endoscopic antral myotomy (BEAM) is a novel endoscopic technique which is performed using a gastroscope under general anesthesia. It involves cutting the muscle fibers at the gastric antrum, thereby weakening the antral pump, delaying gastric emptying and inducing satiety. Early reports had shown that this technique can produce significant weight loss. Furthermore, this technique has the potential benefits of lower risks, improved durability and allows subsequent mucosal assessment of stomach, which is important in Asia countries with higher prevalence of gastric intestinal metaplasia or gastric cancers. Given that this novel endoscopic technique has not been widely adopted for treatment of obesity, this pilot study aims to investigate the efficacy and safety of BEAM in obese patients who are eligible for endoscopic bariatric therapies.