Intra Gastric – gastric balloon is one of the effective methods applied to the treatment of obesity. It does not leave any permanent scars, does not require hospitalization and can provide an average of 20-30 kg of loss. Most balloons are removed 6-12 months after insertion.
Gastric balloon can be inserted in patients with BMI in the range of 25-50.
The age limit is generally between 18 and 65. However, there may be exceptions.
It is not applied to patients with esophageal, stomach, duodenal ulcers, hiatal hernia (stomach hernia) over 5 cm, those who have stomach and esophageal varices, those who use anticoagulants, and those who have had stomach surgery.
There is no clear opinion about the amount of balloon inflation. It cannot be less than 400 ml and more than 700 ml. We inflate 500 ml on average.
The balloon acts by mechanically shrinking the stomach, reducing the level of ghrelin (hunger hormone) and prolonging the gastric emptying time.
Intra Gastric Balloon can be applied while awake under a light sleep state called sedation or under general anesthesia. Gastric balloon placement is a simple and quick procedure with no side effects.
It may cause stomach pain, spasm, nausea and vomiting for 1-5 days after the procedure (the process of adaptation to the balloon). Afterwards, the complaints decrease and end.
After the procedure, 3 days of liquid nutrition, 3-7 days of puree style nutrition is recommended.
All patients are provided with dietitian support.