Gastric balloons are inserted orally, either by swallowing a pill or under endoscopy (a camera is inserted down your oesophagus with the balloon where it is detached in the stomach and filled with saline or air). The entire procedure takes about 20 minutes.

A gastric balloon (sometimes called an intragastric balloon) is a reversible, non-surgical weight-loss procedure that can be helpful to severely obese patients wanting to jump-start weight loss, or for those who do not have quite the BMI required for weight-loss surgery.

The doctor inserts a deflated soft silicone gastric balloon into your stomach through your mouth. The balloon is then filled with a saline solution or with air, which means that your stomach can hold less food (due to the space taken up by the gastric balloon). The result is that you will feel fuller more quickly and you’ll eat less. The gastric balloon can be left in place for up to six months – it’s not a permanent solution and your stomach will return to normal after it’s removed.

 

The Gastric Balloon procedure isn’t for everybody, but you may be a candidate for it if:

You need to lose some weight before an upcoming event

Your BMI is 27 or higher (weight-loss surgery normally requires a BMI of 40 or higher)

You are severely obese and your doctor has deemed that surgery might be risky; the gastric balloon can jump-start your weight loss and make surgery safer.

Gastric Balloon surgery has the benefits below:

It’s non-surgical so there is no operation.

It is reversible.

There is virtually no recovery time.

You could lose up to 35% of your body weight.

It could be used to kick start a healthy living regime.