What Is A Gastric Balloon?
Gastric balloons (sometimes called intragastric balloons) are one of the newer forms of weight loss surgery. Unlike most other types it is a temporary aid to help moderately obese patients lose weight as it is only in place for a maximum of six months before being removed.
The balloon itself is made of silicone and is inserted via the mouth into the stomach using an endoscopic procedure. It is then filled with air or saline solution. The procedure takes about ten to twenty minutes and little or no sedation is required. Because of this most people only have to take a few days off work to recover and some even return the next day. However it's best to avoid strenuous exercise for two months following the surgery.
The following video will give you some idea about what's involved in having an intragastric balloon fitted.
Filling the balloon with air is the cheaper option but does have disadvantages compared to the saline solution option. The main one is that because it is very light when you drink a lot the balloon floats on the fluid rather than in the fluid. This can cause the gastric balloon to temporarily block the entrance into the stomach after you've drunk a certain amount. As a result you won't be able to eat for a while until the fluid level has dropped down.
With a saline filled balloon the fluid is actually coloured blue so that if it springs a leak and starts to deflate the patient will know as their urine will be green! With air you don't get this warning.
The inflated gastric balloon works by partially filling your stomach so that you'll feel fuller more quickly when eating. It also reduces your ability to consume large amounts of food or fluids in one go. With the balloon in place a weight loss diet should be followed to retrain your eating habits so that you don't put the weight back on once the balloon is removed. Patients can expect their BMI to drop up to 10 points in the six months following the surgery.
For the first few days you'll feel uncomfortable as your stomach learns to cope with the balloon. For the first three days you'll be on a liquid only diet of water, juices, milk, thin soup, etc. After that more solid foods will be introduced. If you try consuming the same levels of food you did prior to the surgery you will feel bloated and will probably end up vomiting.
The cost for having a intragastric balloon inserted and removed is between £4,000 to £8,000.
When it comes to removing the gastric balloon the procedure is almost the same as before but done in reverse. The following video shows what happens.