Imagine eating a meal and feeling a sharp pain in your upper left belly, every single time, for 20 years. That was life for a 56-year-old woman with a gastric diverticulum, a small pouch that bulges out from the stomach wall. Hers was a false diverticulum, meaning it did not contain all the layers of the stomach. Doctors tried proton pump inhibitors, medicines that reduce stomach acid, but the pain did not go away.
So they tried something different: an endoscopic full-thickness resection, or EFTR. This is a procedure where doctors use a flexible tube with a camera and tools to remove the pouch from inside, without major surgery. After the procedure, the woman's abdominal pain resolved. A check-up endoscopy one month later showed the area had healed well. Lab tests confirmed the pouch was not cancerous.
This is a single case report, which means it describes just one person. That is a big limitation. The researchers say more studies are needed to figure out exactly who might benefit from this approach. No side effects or complications were reported in this case, but one case cannot tell us how safe or effective EFTR is for everyone with this condition.
For now, this offers a glimmer of hope for people with small, medication-resistant gastric diverticula. But it is far from proof. If you have ongoing stomach pain, talk to your doctor about what might be causing it and what options are right for you.
