Introduction:

left gastric artery embolization is a novel, minimally invasive technique that is being investigated as an alternative method, often complementary, to control appetite and body weight by means of reducing the secretion of the ghrelin hormone.

Objective:

to describe the safety and efficacy of left gastric artery embolization as a therapeutic procedure for the treatment of obesity.

Methods:

a review of the relevant literature on the subject was carried out in the second semester of 2019. Pubmed and Google Scholar were used as scientific information search engines; 54 articles were reviewed, of which 36 were referenced.

Conclusions:

the safety and efficacy of left gastric artery embolization as a therapeutic procedure for the treatment of obesity was acceptable in most of the reviewed studies; the lack of evidence (few cases) and standardized protocols for this intervention require randomized clinical trials, with a larger sample of cases and over a longer period of time.