Is losing weight your New Year’s resolution? If so, you are not alone. While everyone knows that eating less and exercising more are the healthiest ways to a slimmer you – it is not easy. However, there is a new non-surgical treatment designed to help you reach your weight-loss goal – and it begins with swallowing a balloon.
The non-surgical treatment consists of three lightweight balloons, placed gradually over three months. The placement of each balloon takes less than 10 minutes per balloon, and does not require sedation.
In your physician’s office, you swallow a capsule containing a small balloon. Your physician then inflates the balloon with a gas mixture. A fully-inflated single balloon weighs approximately three grams and is the size of a small orange. After placement, most patients returned to normal activities with no downtime.
Washington University gastroenterologist, Michael Bennett, MD, explains, “The balloons occupy space in your stomach so you feel full faster, making it easier to eat less and lose weight as a result. The balloon system can assist with your weight loss efforts, but your success is also dependent on your readiness to develop new lifestyle skills – healthier eating habits and regular exercise.
During treatment, you will receive a professionally-coached diet and exercise program to help you make lifestyle changes that promote weight loss. We work with you to help make the right food choices and portion sizes.
Successful weight loss is never a quick fix. This system helps you make small changes in your everyday habits that turn into noticeable, long-term results.”
At the end of the six-month period, all three balloons are removed in one endoscopic procedure in the physician’s office. You are lightly sedated while the balloons are deflated and removed one at a time.
When used in combination with a professionally managed nutrition and exercise program, patients lost twice as much weight as with diet and exercise alone. An average of 89% of the total weight lost at six months was maintained at one year.
Important safety information
The three-balloon system is intended for adults with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 to 40 who are willing to follow a diet and exercise program. Patients with prior weight loss surgeries are not eligible. The most common side-effects reported were mild abdominal pain and nausea that typically resolved within two weeks.
For more information about this weight loss procedure, or to make an appointment with Dr. Bennett or another gastroenterologist weight loss specialist, please call 314-362-2652.
Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital
Medical Building Three
1020 N. Mason Road, Suite 100
Creve Coeur, MO 63141