A novel gastric positioning system helps promote more consistent sleeve creation and greater efficiency within the vertical sleeve gastrectomy (VSG) procedure.

The GastriSail gastric positioning system combines benefits of three devices in one, decompressing the stomach pouch, serving as suction device, and as a sizing guide for surgeons during gastric and bariatric procedures. Once the surgeon positions the GastriSail system in the stomach, a unique light emitting diode (LED) strip component illuminates through the stomach tissue, allowing surgeons to see a clear line delineating where the stomach should be dissected, stapled, and divided.

By guiding the surgeon's staple lines, the GastriSail helps to ensure consistent shape of the stomach pouch, and also promotes more reliable sleeve creation and greater procedural efficiency compared to a standard bougie. Since fewer device insertions are needed, the system also reduces potential risk of irritating or injuring the esophagus during the procedure. The GastriSail system is a product of Medtronic (Dublin, Ireland), and has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

“The GastriSail system provides enhanced visualization and improved consistency allowing for streamlined, auto-placement in the stomach,” said bariatric surgeon and co-developer of the GastriSail system Amit Trivedi, MD, of Hackensack University Medical Center (NJ, USA). “Using the GastriSail system enables a more consistent procedure and greater efficiency, which can potentially change the patient experience.”

“The GastriSail system is a first-of-its-kind in the bariatric industry, and demonstrates our continued commitment to fight obesity with specialized solutions that provide better patient outcomes and have the potential to increase adoption of this well-established procedure,” said Chris Barry, senior vice president and president of the surgical innovations business, minimally invasive therapies group at Medtronic. “Working very closely with Dr. Trivedi, we were able to develop the GastriSail system as a unique solution that promotes consistency of the sleeve, but also procedural efficiency.”

VSG involves the surgical removal of a significant portion of the stomach along the greater curvature, reducing it to about 25% of its original size. The longitudinal resection of the stomach starts from the antrum at a point 5–6 cm from the pylorus, and ends at the fundus close to the cardia; the remaining gastric sleeve is then calibrated, with the ideal approximate remaining size of the stomach after the procedure at about 150 mL. VSG is the fastest growing weight loss surgery option in North America and Asia.

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Medtronic
Hackensack University Medical Center