What is a Gastric Balloon?
A saline-filled gastric balloon that rests in the stomach cavity made out of soft silicone. While it is temporarily in your stomach for 12 months it encourages your body to adapt to reduce your portion sizes and give you time to perform adequate lifestyle modifications.
How does the Balloon work?
It occupies approximately a third of the stomach volume. In addition, with the gastric balloon in place, the stomach empties more slowly, which keeps food in your stomach longer than usual. Together these exert internal pressure within your stomach, which signals you to eat less. Additionally, the activation of gastric stretch receptor results in signals being transmitted centrally through the vagal nerves, also affecting satiety. In summary, the intragastric balloon causes an early feeling of satiety, as a result of gastric distension, and acts as an obstacle to excess food consumption. This technique has become an effective method of achieving significant weight reduction in obese people especially as current balloons can remain in place for 1 year.
Who is it for?
Excess weight of 20 to 25Kg per HORMONAL CHANGE IN MENOPAUSE.
Excess weight between 20 to 30Kg caused by PREGNANCY and POSTPARTUM.
Food imbalance derived from DEPRESSION, ANXIETY or EMOTIONAL PROBLEMS, which leads to weight gain between 25 and 35 kg.
SPORTS INJURY OR ACCIDENT WITH REST, which due to inactivity and decreased caloric expenditure is increased between 20 and 30Kg.
STRESS, ANXIETY AND FOOD DISPOSITION, together with the lack of mobility, rest and prolonged inactivity, incur an excess of weight between 20 to 30Kg
Before placing the balloon the patient will have been visited and evaluated by our medical, nutritional and psychological team to ensure that all the treatment is suitable for you
The Procedure
IT IS NOT A SURGERY, there are no external or internal scars. It is done with a small sedation in the endoscopy suite. You will not suffer any discomfort during the implantation procedure, which is done in about 15 to 20 minutes. The balloon is implanted and after an hour you may go home. Initially you will feel drowsy because of the sedation. Any discomfort experienced after the procedure virtually disappears after 24 hours. You will be prescribed medication against nausea and vomiting.
As it is a non-invasive, non-surgical procedure, the recovery period is usually fast. Usually patients return to work between 48 and 72 hours after the procedure. It is normal to have some nausea, vomiting or abdominal pain in the first few days after placement. Its intensity will decrease as the days go by and the stomach becomes accustomed to the balloon.
However, everything will depend on the time it takes your body to get used to the balloon.
Benefits:
It does not require surgery
It is quick and easy to place
It may result in long-term weight loss when used in conjunction with a diet and exercise program.
Clinical studies reveal an average weight loss of 21 kg in 6 month time and 37 kg in a year time, which means, in many cases, reaching normal weight
You may feel full quicker and be less hungry while the balloon is in place.
The balloon helps you to accomplish long-term weight loss with no surgery
Some balloons can be refilled after 6 months, allowing them to be customised to individual weight loss needs
No hospital admission
With the adjustable balloon, the final weight loss obtained is more than double that of the normal, non-adjustable one
What happens after the Balloon has been placed?
You will have a feeling of fullness, as if you just finished eating. After a few weeks you won’t feel the Gastric balloon in your stomach, you will simply feel a constant sensation of satiety.
As you will be satisfied after ingesting a smaller amount of food than you would have before, this has the added benefit of allowing you to follow the nutritional plan our specialists provide for you more easily.
Eating with the Balloon
We may recommend that you only drink liquids for the first couple of days and that you move to solid foods when comfortable. The balloon will help you feel fuller allowing you to eat smaller portions. Our dietetic team will give you dietary advice on following a healthy balanced diet, mindful eating and changing habits to achieve optimal results.
The balloon has a ink alarm system that prevents the balloon from migrating to the duodenum in case of accidental deflation. You will urinate green and then it is time to call us to remove the deflated device.
