Gastric balloon to treat obesity: filled with air or fluid?
BACKGROUND
Our aim was to study the efficacy and safety of different types of intragastric balloon in morbidly obese patients.


PATIENTS AND METHODS
From 2005 to 2011, intragastric balloons were inserted endoscopically into 32 patients. Intragastric balloons were used in morbidly obese (body mass index [BMI] ≥ 35 kg/m(2) ) individuals who were non-responsive to 6-month medical therapy and diet. Balloons were endoscopically removed after 6 months.


RESULTS
Thirty-six balloons were inserted in a total of 32 patients. Mean age of the patients was 37.28 ± 12.08 (17-64) years and mean height was 169.81 ± 8.17 (150-185) cm. Initial mean weight was 128.87 ± 23.31 kg and BMI was 45.26 ± 8.48 kg/m(2) . At month 6, mean bodyweight was 116.93 ± 23.18 and BMI was 40.96 ± 7.96 kg/m(2) (P < 0.001, P < 0.001, respectively). At the end of 6 months, while the excessweight loss (EWL) median was 13.0 kg, [interquartile range IQR: 5.0-16.0] and percent EWL median was 21.92, [IQR: 12.72-28.49] in the Heliosphere BAG patients, the EWL median was 19.0 kg, [IQR: 14.47-26.72] and the percent EWL median was 38.26, [IQR: 19.73-47.79] in the BioEnterics Intragastric Balloon patients (P = 0.006, P = 0.010, respectively for EWL median and percent EWL median). One patient died (3.1%) of cardiac arrest due to aspiration at day 13 after BIB placement.


CONCLUSION
Although not without risk, intragastric balloon placement is an effective method for weight loss. BioEnterics Intragastric Balloon is more effective in helping weight loss than the Heliosphere BAG balloon.
['Caglar|Erkan|E|', 'Dobrucali|Ahmet|A|', 'Bal|Kadir|K|']
D000293:Adolescent D000328:Adult D000388:Air D000704:Analysis of Variance D015992:Body Mass Index D016009:Chi-Square Distribution D015331:Cohort Studies D004867:Equipment Design D004869:Equipment Safety D005260:Female D005500:Follow-Up Studies D015905:Gastric Balloon D005773:Gastroscopy D006801:Humans D008297:Male D008875:Middle Aged D009767:Obesity, Morbid D061214:Patient Safety D012189:Retrospective Studies D018570:Risk Assessment D016896:Treatment Outcome D014867:Water D015431:Weight Loss D055815:Young Adult
gastric balloon obesity weight loss