Delayed Gastric Emptying Following Procedure

This multicenter clinical trial, conducted at Qilu Hospital of Shandong University and collaborating institutions, prospectively assesses the efficacy and safety of acupuncture for postoperative delayed gastric emptying. Eligible participants will be prospectively enrolled and randomized into different groups per the study protocol. The primary endpoint is the reduction in the duration of delayed gastric emptying, while secondary endpoints include the complete resolution of cardinal gastroparetic symptoms, such as abdominal distension, nausea, and vomiting. All study procedures adhere to the ethical standards outlined in the approved protocol.

Gastric myotomy has been performed for several years as a means of addressing chronic stenosis after sleeve gastrectomy and treating gastroparesis. The Pylorus Sparing Antral Myotomy (PSAM) technique has the opposite effect by leaving the pylorus intact and extending the myotomy proximally to the distal gastric body. PSAM was initially combined with ESG and shown to delay gastric emptying and provide greater weight loss without impacting tolerability (GCSI score) or the safety profile of the procedure (2 DDW GEM abstracts). PSAM has not been evaluated alone, without concomitant ESG. Since delayed gastric emptying alone is known to promote weight loss, it is thought that PSAM alone (without ESG) may provide similar efficacy, while reducing procedure time and adverse events. There have been no clinical studies that investigate the efficacy of PSAM independent of ESG. This pilot study aims to address this lack of information by evaluating the safety, tolerability, and short-term efficacy of PSAM, in addition to exploring its impact on gastric physiology. This will also provide data that may be used in designing a larger clinical trial.

The goal of this pragmatic, registry-based, randomized clinical trial is to find out if using botulinum toxin (Botox) to help drain the stomach during an esophagectomy works as well as a pyloromyotomy in patients undergoing elective esophagectomy for benign or malignant esophageal disease. Both methods are intended to prevent problems with food emptying too slowly from the stomach (delayed gastric emptying), which can cause discomfort after surgery. The main question it aims to answer is: Is intrapyloric Botox injection as a drainage procedure during esophagectomy non-inferior in preventing symptoms of delayed gastric emptying at 6 months postoperatively compared to pyloromyotomy? Researchers will compare intrapyloric Botox injection to pyloromyotomy to see if Botox is non-inferior to pyloromyotomy in easing symptoms of delayed gastric emptying. Participants will: Be randomized to one of two treatment groups-either intrapyloric Botox injection or pyloromyotomy-during their esophagectomy. Complete surveys assessing digestive symptoms at standard postoperative follow-up intervals (3 months, 6 months, 1 year, and 2 years postoperatively). Undergo a standard gastric emptying study at 6 months after surgery.