Nice University Hospital has carried out a procedure never before performed in France. The intervention concerns obesity management and was carried out in digestive endoscopy.
The technique used is fundic gastric mucosal ablation (fGMA). It is based on targeted coagulation of the fundic mucosa and acts on the production of ghrelin, the hormone associated with the sensation of hunger.
The procedure was performed under general anaesthesia within the DIGI-TUNED division. It involved a patient with grade 2 obesity. The treatment was delivered on an outpatient basis, with no complications reported.
Nice University Hospital is the first centre in France to implement this approach. The procedure was carried out with the technical support of ERBE Medical. The French Society for Digestive Endoscopy also supported this national first.
A national first at Nice University Hospital
Nice University Hospital has carried out, for the first time in France, an innovative endoscopic procedure for the management of obesity. This minimally invasive technique, requiring neither surgery nor medication, opens up promising prospects for patients.
Performed within the DIGI-TUNED digestive endoscopy division under general anaesthesia, the procedure is based on an advanced technique known as fundic gastric mucosal ablation (fGMA). It involves the targeted destruction of the fundic mucosa of the stomach using a latest-generation argon coagulation system (MOVIVA*, developed by the German company ERBE Medical).
This approach acts directly on the production of ghrelin, the hormone that regulates hunger. By reducing its secretion, the technique is designed to durably lower appetite and enhance the effectiveness of weight loss.
Used in combination with endoscopic gastric plication, a procedure already routinely performed at Nice University Hospital, this innovation opens up particularly encouraging prospects. While plication alone delivers average weight loss of around 15%, the combination with fGMA could make it possible to exceed 25%.
To date, only one international study, published in the leading journal Endoscopy by an Italian team, has documented this technique. Nice University Hospital has therefore become the first French centre to implement it.
The procedure was performed on a patient with grade 2 obesity (BMI 35.5 kg/m²), following validation at a multidisciplinary consultation meeting and as part of the coordinated obesity care pathway of the Specialised Obesity Centre, under the coordination of Dr Véronique Nègre and Professor Nicolas Chevallier.
Carried out with the technical support of ERBE Medical, and in collaboration with Professor Marc Barthet (APHM, Hôpital Nord, President of the French Society for Digestive Endoscopy – SFED), the intervention proceeded without complications, with outpatient management enabling the patient to return home the same day.
This innovation offers major benefits for patients:
- a non-surgical approach,
- no drug treatment,
- a minimally invasive technique,
- rapid recovery.
It fully reflects the commitment of Nice University Hospital to delivering care that is ever more innovative, effective and respectful of patients.
“This national first illustrates our ambition: to offer patients in the Alpes-Maritimes innovative, less invasive and increasingly effective solutions, within a rigorous and secure medical framework.”
Nice University Hospital wishes to acknowledge the commitment of its digestive endoscopy medical and paramedical teams, as well as the support of the French Society for Digestive Endoscopy, which made this national first possible.
Through this advance, Nice University Hospital is reaffirming its mission: to provide patients in the Alpes-Maritimes with access to the latest innovations in a safe, coordinated framework that remains deeply attentive to their care pathway.
Source : Nice University Hospital
