Post-sleeve gastrectomy weight loss: Role of botulinum toxin and semaglutide injections.

[BACKGROUND AND STUDY AIMS] Comparison of the therapeutic effects of endoscopic botulinum toxin (BTX) injection and semaglutide (SME) injection in treatment of patients with obesity and weight regain after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG).

[PATIENTS AND METHODS] The injection method for botulinum toxin is to dilute 300 U of type A botulinum toxin with 20 mL of physiological saline. Injections were made in a grid pattern throughout the antrum and body (20 injection points total), with 1 mL of drug injected at every point. The application method for semaglutide injection is to start at 0.25 mg once a week and increase by 0.25 mg every 3 weeks until the patient can tolerate the maximum dose (1.0 mg qw), for a total of 6 months.

[RESULTS] The weight loss effect of the SME group was significantly better than that of the LSG+SME group because the SME group achieved significantly greater weight loss at 2 months than the LSG+SME group. No significant difference was seen between any other pair of groups.

[CONCLUSIONS] Endoscopic botulinum toxin injection can be a safe and effective treatment for weight regain after LSG.