Eric J. Vargas

• Doctor of Medicine
• Advanced Endoscopist at Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research

Background Revisional bariatric surgery (RBS) is now the third most performed metabolic and bariatric surgery (MBS) in the USA. This study aims to describe trends in MBS revisions at a single large academic institution over 25 years. Methods We identified patients who underwent an MBS revision between 2000 and 2024 at a single large quaternary ref...

Endoscopic bariatric and metabolic therapies (EBMTs) represent a new era in obesity treatment. These endoscopic devices mimic the anatomic and physiologic perturbations produced by bariatric surgery with a reduced procedural risk compared to surgery and increased therapeutic benefit compared to lifestyle interventions alone. Endoscopically placed b...

Background and Aims Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) carries a 3–15% risk of post-ERCP pancreatitis (PEP). Rectal indomethacin reduces the risk of PEP, but its cost has increased more than 20-fold over the past decade. Rectal diclofenac is also used to prevent PEP but is not commercially available in the United States. The aim...

Background/aims: Coaxial placement of double pigtail plastic stents (DPPS) through lumen-apposing metal stents (LAMSs) is commonly performed to reduce the risk of LAMS obstruction, bleeding, and stent migration when used for the drainage of pancreatic fluid collections (PFCs). A systematic review and meta-analysis were performed to compare the out...

Background and Aims Early identification of malignant biliary strictures (MBS) is challenging, with up to 20% classified as indeterminants after preliminary testing and tissue sampling with endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP). We aimed to evaluate the use of methylated DNA markers (MDM) from biliary brushings to enhance MBS detect...

Purpose Revisional bariatric surgery (RBS) after primary Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) is indicated for the efficient management of specific complications such as bile reflux. Published literature on this topic remains scarce as we aim to evaluate the long-term outcomes (10 years) of RBS for bile reflux after RYGB. Material and Methods We conduc...

Background To evaluate the weight loss outcomes of the large US cohort of patients undergoing endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty (ESG) with or without concomitant anti-obesity (AOM) use. Methods We performed a retrospective analysis of adult patients who underwent ESG from seven different sites, from January 1, 2020 to November 30, 2022. Percent total...

Background Visceral fat represents a metabolically active entity linked to adverse metabolic sequelae of obesity. We aimed to determine if celiac artery mesenteric fat thickness can be reliably measured during endoscopic ultrasound (EUS), and if these measurements correlate with metabolic disease burden. Methods This was a retrospective analysis o...

Plain language summary Use of individualized metabolic surgery score in endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty Why was the study done? Endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty (ESG) is effective and safe as a treatment for obesity and has also shown improvement in diabetes in previous studies. However, there is no data showing the rates of diabetes remission after t...

Background and Aims Endoscopic ultrasound shear wave elastography (EUS-SWE) is a novel modality for liver stiffness measurement. The aims of this study are to evaluate the performance and reliability of EUS-SWE for detecting advanced liver disease in a prospective cohort. Methods EUS-SWE measurements were prospectively obtained from patients under...

Background and study aims Endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty (ESG) is performed in clinical practice by gastroenterologists and bariatric surgeons. Given the increasing regulatory approval and global adoption, we aimed to evaluate real-world outcomes in multidisciplinary practices involving bariatric surgeons and gastroenterologists across the United S...

Gastroenterology and hepatology encompass a vast anatomical assortment of organs that have diverse structure and function and potentially are afflicted by a multiplicity of disease processes. We have designed the Mayo Clinic Gastroenterology and Hepatology Board Review course and the revised sixth edition of this book to assist both physicians-in-t...

Introduction Despite the increasing number of bariatric procedures over the recent years, the physiological changes in secondary esophageal motility and distensibility parameters after surgery remain unknown. Methods This is a retrospective, single-center cohort study comparing esophageal planimetry and gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) distensibili...

Introduction Gastrojejunal anastomosis (GJA) dilation is an independent predictor of weight regain (WR) after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB). However, the role of planimetric measurements in this context remains unknown. Methods This is a retrospective cohort study including adult RYGB patients who underwent a diagnostic endoscopy with Endoflip a...

Background Inadequate bowel preparation can result in decreased diagnostic accuracy and therapeutic safety of colonoscopy for colon cancer screening. The Boston Bowel Preparation Scale (BBPS) has been used to assess the quality of bowel preparation. Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists (GLP-1RAs) are commonly used medications for diabetes mell...

Introduction Endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty (ESG) has gained popularity over the past decade and has been adopted in both academic and private institutions globally. We present outcomes of the largest cohort of patients from the United States undergoing ESG and evaluate these according to obesity class. Methods We performed a retrospective analysi...

Background and study aims Traditional transoral outlet reduction (TORe) is a minimally invasive endoscopic approach focused on reducing the aperture of the gastrojejunal (GJ) anastomosis, while the tubular transoral outlet reduction (tTORe) consists of tabularization of the distal pouch utilizing an O-shape gastroplasty suturing pattern. The primar...

Background Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) within 72 h is suggested for patients presenting with acute biliary pancreatitis (ABP) and biliary obstruction without cholangitis. This study aimed to identify if urgent ERCP (within 24 h) improved outcomes compared to early ERCP (24–72 h) in patients admitted with predicted mild ABP...

Background: Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) is technically challenging in patients with Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) due to altered anatomy. Objective: To compare the procedural and clinical outcomes of 4 different ERCP techniques in RYGB patients. Setting: Academic tertiary referral center in the United States. Metho...

Background and aims: There are limited data about how to teach endosonographers needle-based confocal laser endomicroscopy (nCLE)-guided histologic diagnosis of pancreatic cystic lesions (PCLs). Hence, we developed and tested a structured educational program to train early-career endosonographers in nCLE-guided diagnosis of PCLs. Methods: Twenty...

Introduction: Endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty (ESG) is performed in clinical practice by both gastroenterologists and bariatric surgeons across the nation. Given the increasing regulatory approval and global adoption, our aim is to evaluate real world outcomes in multidisciplinary practices involving bariatric surgeons and gastroenterologists (GI)...

Background: The Primary Obesity Surgery Endoluminal 2.0 (POSE 2.0) procedure involves full-thickness gastric body plications to narrow the stomach using durable suture anchor pairs. We evaluated POSE 2.0 as a treatment strategy for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in patients with obesity. Methods: Adults with obesity and NAFLD were pro...

Background Post-operative pancreatic fluid collections (POPFCs) can be drained using percutaneous or endoscopic approaches. The primary aim of this study was to compare rates of clinical success between endoscopic ultrasound-guided drainage (EUSD) with percutaneous drainage (PTD) in the management of symptomatic POPFCs after distal pancreatectomy....