"A new device is being studied in other countries to find out - and
it could be available locally in a matter of years. It's an enticing
idea in a time when 65 percent of American adults and 16 percent of
American children are overweight or obese.
Inserted without incisions, the balloon would fill up space in the stomach to make a person feel full after eating less food. The
most common weight-loss surgery in the United States is gastric bypass,
which permanently reduces the size of the stomach by cutting off 90
percent of the stomach and part of the small intestine. Another
surgical way to squeeze the stomach into a smaller size is lap-band, or
laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding. Although the stomach-balloon
procedure is not yet available in the United States, area weight-loss
centers would consider offering it to morbidly obese patients if it
wins approval from the Food and Drug Administration. Jeff Rosen,
medical director of the Weight Intervention and Surgical Healthcare
Center in Downers Grove, said he and his colleagues are keeping an eye
out for it even if it only helps the top 10 percent of patients who are
severely obese.
Who's eligible?
"People who are too
high-risk for gastric bypass or lap-band," Rosen said. "These are
people who have bad heart disease, are not able to move around
activity-wise, maybe even psychologically are not prepared for it."
It's
possible that patients who drop some weight with the stomach balloon
could have weight-loss surgery later with fewer risks, he said. David
Klem, bariatric surgery director at Central DuPage Hospital in
Winfield, added that many kinds of surgeries are less dangerous if an
obese patient loses weight first.
In the procedure, the
deflated balloon is inserted down a patient's throat and inflated in
the stomach - filled with air or saline, depending on the model used.
It only takes 10 to 20 minutes to insert, and patients can go home the
same day. The balloon can safely stay in place for six months before
it's removed, according to researchers in Europe, Latin America and
Canada.
A similar balloon device used in the 1980s and '90s was
taken off the market because of high complication rates, such as
obstructions in the stomach, bowel and esophagus and holes in the
stomach, Rosen said.
Preliminary studies suggest the new balloon
helps patients lose weight, but not without risks. In some cases, the
balloon failed to inflate as soon as it was inserted, deflated
spontaneously before treatment ended or caused patients pain because of
its size and firmness. Rosen added that the stomach could still expand
around the balloon if the patient eats more.
Another barrier to
getting the stomach balloon in the United States could be the cost,
Klem said. The procedure could cost at least $2,000, and insurance
companies are reluctant to cover anything that appears to
be experimental, he said. "It's still more affordable than gastric bypass surgery, which costs about $26,000."
The
American Society for Bariatric Surgery considers the stomach balloon as
still on the horizon for obesity treatment. It joins other nonsurgical
procedures in development: implanting a device in the stomach that uses
small electrodes to create a feeling of fullness; snaking a robotic
tube down the throat to perform stomach-stapling surgery without
incisions; or inserting a tube through the rectum into the intestines
that would interfere with calorie absorption. These could be a decade
away, doctors learned at an obesity meeting at the Cleveland Clinic
last month.
"These procedures, while interesting in their
simplicity, have not had documented adequate long-term weight loss,"
according to the bariatric surgery society's Web site. "However, as
these procedures are potentially much safer than other operations, they
may have a significant role in the future."
The key thing people
must understand is that the stomach balloon is temporary, Rosen said.
He's concerned people will consider this the answer to their weight
problems without making lifestyle changes such as diet, exercise and
behavior. Even with surgery, every patient at the WISH Center and
Central DuPage gets help making those changes.
Klem said the
balloon would be a steppingstone to weight loss, like Jenny Craig,
Seattle Sutton or Slim-Fast. Once people stop doing that specific
thing, they tend to put their weight back on, he said.
"The same
thing is going to happen once you take that balloon out and you fall
back into your old habits," he said. "That's why gastric bypass and
lap-band are better, because they are designed to be lifelong."
Rosen urged patients to educate themselves first.
"If
you look at any advertisement for any weight-loss product, look at the
small print on the screen," he said. "It will say, 'Results not
typical. Proper nutrition and exercise are an essential part of any
weight-loss regimen.' When anybody sees something new, they should
explore it and see what's around before taking it."
This article is from: The Naperville Sun.
It's temporary. Therefore weight re-gain will happen if you don't change your eating for life.
Inserted without incisions, the balloon would fill up space in the stomach to make a person feel full after eating less food. The most common weight-loss surgery in the United States is gastric bypass, which permanently reduces the size of the stomach by cutting off 90 percent of the stomach and part of the small intestine. Another surgical way to squeeze the stomach into a smaller size is lap-band, or laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding. Although the stomach-balloon procedure is not yet available in the United States, area weight-loss centers would consider offering it to morbidly obese patients if it wins approval from the Food and Drug Administration. Jeff Rosen, medical director of the Weight Intervention and Surgical Healthcare Center in Downers Grove, said he and his colleagues are keeping an eye out for it even if it only helps the top 10 percent of patients who are severely obese.
Who's eligible?
"People who are too high-risk for gastric bypass or lap-band," Rosen said. "These are people who have bad heart disease, are not able to move around activity-wise, maybe even psychologically are not prepared for it."
It's possible that patients who drop some weight with the stomach balloon could have weight-loss surgery later with fewer risks, he said. David Klem, bariatric surgery director at Central DuPage Hospital in Winfield, added that many kinds of surgeries are less dangerous if an obese patient loses weight first.
In the procedure, the deflated balloon is inserted down a patient's throat and inflated in the stomach - filled with air or saline, depending on the model used. It only takes 10 to 20 minutes to insert, and patients can go home the same day. The balloon can safely stay in place for six months before it's removed, according to researchers in Europe, Latin America and Canada.
A similar balloon device used in the 1980s and '90s was taken off the market because of high complication rates, such as obstructions in the stomach, bowel and esophagus and holes in the stomach, Rosen said.
Preliminary studies suggest the new balloon helps patients lose weight, but not without risks. In some cases, the balloon failed to inflate as soon as it was inserted, deflated spontaneously before treatment ended or caused patients pain because of its size and firmness. Rosen added that the stomach could still expand around the balloon if the patient eats more.
Another barrier to getting the stomach balloon in the United States could be the cost, Klem said. The procedure could cost at least $2,000, and insurance companies are reluctant to cover anything that appears to
be experimental, he said. "It's still more affordable than gastric bypass surgery, which costs about $26,000."
The American Society for Bariatric Surgery considers the stomach balloon as still on the horizon for obesity treatment. It joins other nonsurgical procedures in development: implanting a device in the stomach that uses small electrodes to create a feeling of fullness; snaking a robotic tube down the throat to perform stomach-stapling surgery without incisions; or inserting a tube through the rectum into the intestines that would interfere with calorie absorption. These could be a decade away, doctors learned at an obesity meeting at the Cleveland Clinic last month.
"These procedures, while interesting in their simplicity, have not had documented adequate long-term weight loss," according to the bariatric surgery society's Web site. "However, as these procedures are potentially much safer than other operations, they may have a significant role in the future."
The key thing people must understand is that the stomach balloon is temporary, Rosen said. He's concerned people will consider this the answer to their weight problems without making lifestyle changes such as diet, exercise and behavior. Even with surgery, every patient at the WISH Center and Central DuPage gets help making those changes.
Klem said the balloon would be a steppingstone to weight loss, like Jenny Craig, Seattle Sutton or Slim-Fast. Once people stop doing that specific thing, they tend to put their weight back on, he said.
"The same thing is going to happen once you take that balloon out and you fall back into your old habits," he said. "That's why gastric bypass and lap-band are better, because they are designed to be lifelong."
Rosen urged patients to educate themselves first.
"If you look at any advertisement for any weight-loss product, look at the small print on the screen," he said. "It will say, 'Results not typical. Proper nutrition and exercise are an essential part of any weight-loss regimen.' When anybody sees something new, they should explore it and see what's around before taking it."
This article is from: The Naperville Sun.
It's temporary. Therefore weight re-gain will happen if you don't change your eating for life.