One popular non-surgical alternative to surgery for obesity is a gastric balloon. With this non-surgical procedure there is no general anesthesia or stay in the hospital required. It is performed quickly and easily, taking as little as 10 minutes to complete. Just one day is spent at home recovering. Sometimes nausea is experienced the first week.

A gastric balloon is a thin silicone balloon that is flexible and filled with either air or saline solution. It is placed into the stomach deflated through an endoscopic tube and then inflated by an external catheter. With the balloon inflated, it lowers the capacity of the stomach and makes one feel full quickly while eating. This means that smaller portions are eaten, which ultimately leads to loss of weight.

This balloon stays in the stomach for a maximum of six months. The BIB (BioEnterics Intragastric Balloon) is the most popular gastric balloon and widely used in hospitals and clinics. The balloon is removed with a reversed procedure where the balloon is first deflated and then taken out through the endoscope.

The benefits of gastric balloon are:

  1. No risky surgery involved
  2. Quick procedure and short recovery
  3. Can quickly return back to work
  4. Improves conditions related to obesity
  5. Daily supplements for nutrition are no longer needed

With the gastric balloon, you will only be able to eat small portions. It is important to try to avoid sugary and fat foods as they may make you feel nauseous. Following the procedure, you can typically see a weight loss of 35-40%. It also tends to improve other obesity-related issues such as high blood pressure, sleep apnea, type 2 diabetes, stroke and arthritis.

To determine a person’s suitability for the gastric balloon, this procedure must be discussed with a surgeon. This would be the same as for any obesity procedure considered. Many times a gastric balloon is recommended when a patient does not want to have surgery, if the criteria for surgery is not fulfilled or weight needs to be lost before a surgical procedure is performed.