DSA-guided Pyloric Balloon Dilation versus Conservative Medical Treatment for Postsurgical Gastroparesis Syndrome

Background: To compare the clinical efficacy of DSA-guided pyloric balloon dilation with that of conservative medical treatment for postsurgical gastroparesis syndrome (PGS). Methods: The clinical data of 41 patients with PGS, who received DSA-guided pyloric balloon dilation (study group, n=21) or conservative medical treatment(control group, n=20) between January 2012 and February 2021, were retrospectively analyzed. The median follow-up period in the study group and the control group was 588 days and 626 days respectively. The average length of stay (ALOS) was compared between the two groups. Results: In the study group, all the 21 patients returned to normal food intake within 2 days after successful DSA-guided pyloric balloon dilationtreatment, and they were all discharged within one week after treatment. The ALOS in the study group was (10.2±1.3) days, which was strikingly shorter than (34.5±14.2) days in the control group. The difference between the two groups was statistically significant (P<0.001). Conclusions: For the treatment of PGS, DSA-guided pyloric balloon dilation carries better clinical efficacy when compared with conservative medical treatment. Therefore, it can be used as the preferred treatment for patients with PGS. Further studies are need to be conducted to clarify the therapeutic mechanism.