*2.7.2. X-rays*

Radiographic follow-up of the animals was done of the cervical region on the lateral-right (in decubito) side, immediately after placement of the module, and every two days until its removal. The test was done in the radiology laboratory at the Veterinary School at UFG, according to the following protocol: 55 kV, 300 mA, 0.04 second of exposure in a right-lateral ducubitus position. A normal esophagus is not visible radiographically, because it is a close to collapsing organ and the module behaves like a foreign body (filled with gas), making it possible to visualize it radiographically. Thus, due to the radiopacity of the gas, it is possible to determine location by means of image.

Prosthesis for Flow Control in the Esophagus as a New Technique for the Treatment of Obesity 177

In this study, a guide needed for pulling the device through to the inside of the esophagus was developed. During the removal procedure, the external wall of the module was

It was found that if the module is inflated with the volume and pressure as described above,upon reaching the stomach it would take, via simple arithmetic mean, 49 hours to partially empty. With this partial emptying, it could pass through the pylorus and into the intestine, a situation similar to what occurred in the experiment presented in [7]. On that, note that among the restrictive techniques already in practice, endoscopic intervention is done to remove the object from the stomach before it descends into the intestine. In the case of the CFE – in the event that it becomes lodged in the stomach between one radiography and another, meaning during a 24-hour period, we would have ample time for removing it endoscopically without causing intestinal obstruction. It is worth mentioning in a detailed analysis carried out, it was noted that studies apply synthetic prosthesis in patients as temporary substitutes for the esophagus, and they are made of diverse materials such as: silicone, *Marlex*®, Teflon®, collagen, and a mixture of collagen and silicone. The amount of time the prosthesis remained inside the body was on average from four to five weeks, from its placement until its exit which corresponds to the end of this treatment, when expelled in the feces after this period without causing intestinal obstruction. In [6], which is used as a basis for this work, among the groups evaluated, cases occurred where the latex prosthesis was expelled by the animal, without causing intestinal obstruction. Thus, the scope of radiographic evaluations adopted (every 24 hours) was done to prevent the possibility of it

This analysis sought to verify if the diet offered was bringing about weight loss in the animals. Considering this, the food provided was initiated ten days before placing the module: the animals accepted the food well given that the ingredients used were appealing. With this procedure, weight loss did not take place in any dog. On the contrary, some

The food provided was semi-moist, made for each dog individually with measurements calculated according to the animal's weight, as indicated by the manufacturer. When preparing the food, solid dog food was used along with meat pâté for dogs and a dietary supplement called Dudog®. With the assistance of a veterinary doctor plus the manufacturer's instructions, the dietary composition was established for each dog which is

perforated for deflation and it was removed with endoscopic forceps.

**3.1. Cadaver test** 

**3.2.** *In-vitro* **study** 

passing from the stomach to the intestine.

**3.3. Weight loss analysis experiment** 

animals experienced weight gain.

presented in Table 2.

*3.3.1. Volume, speed and ingestion time* 

#### *2.7.3. Video-endoscopy*

A video-endoscopy was performed on the 15th day, after withdrawal of the module. The procedure was analogous to that used during placement, utilizing the same endoscopic material.
