The intragastric balloon occupies a space in the stomach, producing a feeling of satiety in the patient and, therefore, reducing the amount of food ingested. Dr. TurrĂ³, specialist in Digestive Endoscopy at Mi Tres Torres, offers the details and advantages of the technique.
Intragastric balloon: what is it and how does it differ from other techniques for obesity?
The intragastric balloon is a silicone prosthesis that is placed inside the stomach, occupying a space and in turn producing a feeling of constant satiety that helps the patient to limit the amount of intake. The main advantage of the balloon over other techniques is its high safety, low complication rate and reversibility.
Advantages of endoscopy in the intragastric balloon procedure
The main advantage of the use of endoscopy is that it allows an immediate assessment of the state of the stomach, and to treat acute lesions that could be aggravated by the placement of the balloon. At the same time, it allows us to perform the placement in a simple and safe manner.
Possible risks or side effects of the intragastric balloon
The main side effects of the intragastric balloon is the sensation of discomfort in the stomach, the second most common side effect is nausea and vomiting. However, most of the risks and complications usually appear when the guidelines have not been followed, both medically and personally by the patient, and dietary or medical guidelines are skipped.
Duration of intragastric balloon treatment and results obtained
The duration and results will depend on the type of balloon used by the specialist in Family Medicine and expert in Digestive Endoscopy: the ingestible balloon, which lasts four months in the stomach, has a loss of about 12-14 kg; the six-month balloon will result in a loss of about 20 kg and, finally, the one-year balloon, with which about 28 kg are lost.