Digested balloon may be better for losing weight study suggests
The balloon is swallowed by the obese patient and stays in the stomach for 16 weeks.
ON Thursday scientists reported that a balloon could be an alternative temporary solution for people suffering from obesity.
At an international conference on obesity in Portugal on 18 May, Dr Roberta Ienca from the Sapienza University of Rome said in her presentation, that the Elipse Balloon is swallowed as a pill. It has a catheter attached to it that is filled with water once it reaches the stomach. The tube is then pulled back up the patient’s throat.
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“It bursts after 16 weeks in the patient’s stomach. The water is released while the balloon itself continues through the digestive tract to be excreted,” Dr Ienca said.
Experts say that the new technology could be a safer and cheaper, alternative to people who cannot or do not want to undergo bariatric surgery.
The small study by Dr Iena resulted in patients losing around a third of their weight. The patients were then told to stick to a Mediterranean diet to sustain the lost weight after the balloon was excreted.
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