Obesity is an important problem in the modern world. Once considered a sign of stateliness, today it poses a threat to life. It sounds strange, but there are many more fat people in the world than hungry people. Is it possible to get rid of excess weight and how to do it?
The ball partially fills the stomach and limits food intake.
The essence of the procedure
Gastric ballooning is a modern method of medicine to combat excess weight. The procedure is based on modern technologies that allow you to insert a special weight loss balloon into the stomach. Doctors claim that this is not an operation, but a normal intervention in the body, reminiscent of gastroscopy.
There are two ballooning techniques:
- Classic. The balloon is filled with saline solution, after which methylene blue is added.
- New. Air is used instead of liquid. The volume of the cylinder is the same, but the weight is significantly less. As a result, the patient feels slight discomfort. Unfortunately, we do not have practice in using this technology.
Contraindications
Before prescribing this procedure to a patient, it is necessary to undergo a series of tests and studies to confirm that it is really necessary. The patient is not always ready for such interventions in his body. The following contraindications are identified:
- inflammatory processes of the gastrointestinal tract;
- the possibility of bleeding;
- the hiatal hernia is large;
- the gastroscopy procedure cannot be performed;
- the patient has addictions;
- pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers.
Dangerous excesses
Increased changes in the shape and size of the stomach are the fate of obese patients. There is a direct relationship here - first you eat deliciously and a lot, then your large digestive organ does not want and cannot remain empty (remember the hypothalamus!).
For one meal, a little is required for complete saturation - about 400 - 500 ml of food. If you eat more, the stomach gradually takes on the shape shown in the figure. There are many dangers for food lovers from the digestive side - this is, first of all, obesity.
Weight gain leads to other gastrointestinal problems:
- Stomach prolapse.
- Diaphragmatic hernia.
- Increased secretory function.
- Defect in kinetic function.
- Gastroesophageal reflux.
- Congestion in the stomach.
All of the above troubles are harbingers of serious illnesses that require therapeutic and sometimes surgical treatment.
However, it is not only a sincere love for tasty food that leads to obesity. The psychological aspect also matters. Surely you know people who, when stressed, go hungry because “the food won’t go down their throats,” as well as others who simply “eat up” stress. Now imagine that a person lives in an atmosphere of constant stress. The result is predictable for both groups.
What is a balloon?
Visually you can compare it with a ball, the difference is that it is made of silicone and has a valve. After the balloon is in the stomach, it begins to be filled with a special liquid.
It is pre-tinted. This will allow you to detect depressurization in time due to the leakage of liquid. The patient will be able to recognize this by the color of the urine; it will take on the color of the colored liquid. It is a known fact that the liquid was administered again, but without success.
A: gastric ballooning scheme. B: This is a real photo of a balloon in the stomach.
If sealing occurs, the balloon may fall further into the intestine.
Placement in the stomach
The procedure is performed in several stages. A silicone balloon is inserted into the stomach through the mouth. The body first receives a sedative, the effect lasts for an hour. The process of placing the cylinder itself takes 20 minutes. After this, it is filled with solution. Thanks to this, the body will feel a constant feeling of fullness. The volume of the balloon is 500 ml; after administration, it is impossible to change the amount of solution. After everything is completed, you need to spend several hours in the hospital so that doctors can observe your condition.
Step-by-step insertion of the balloon into the stomach
The first few days there may be a feeling of nausea and vomiting. But it is impossible not to eat food at all. The body will get used to the foreign body for about a week, so drinking a glass of water will cause inconvenience.
Life after installing the cylinder
2-3 hours after the installation of the balloon in the stomach is completed, the person is allowed to go home. However, doctors recommend spending a day in the hospital under observation. The patient may experience nausea, vomiting and other side effects. In this case, doctors will immediately provide the necessary assistance. Negative symptoms may be observed during the first few days. Then the body gets used to the foreign body and the discomfort goes away. While wearing the balloon, medications that reduce acidity are taken.
Side effects
There are several negative points. As was written above, this is depressurization. Spontaneous rupture of the membrane is possible, this will lead to it falling into the small intestine, thereby forming an obstruction.
When the balloon is inside, erosions may appear on the gastric mucosa. This is the body's reaction to a foreign body. The development of peptic ulcers and gastritis is likely.
Complications can be prevented by taking medications daily that can inhibit gastric secretion.
How many kilograms can you lose
Once the balloon is in the stomach, the main process begins - gradual weight loss. Experts compared the results of their patients, and the overall picture of weight loss is as follows:
- The patients managed to lose 40 kg.
- Weight loss was 15 kg.
- Body weight decreased by 40%.
- The index of total body weight decreased by 5%.
What matters is whether the patient follows a diet. For example, if a person eats 1000 kcal per day, he will lose up to 18 kg. Those who led a normal lifestyle did not lose more than 9 kg.
Much depends on the patient’s personality. The more effort you put in, the better the result will be in the end. Even with this method there are no miracles. And in order to really lose weight you need to make a lot of effort.
Patients always ask the question: can the previous weight return? If the patient again eats a lot and does not control the calories consumed, the answer will be unequivocal - yes. That is why, within 6 months of the device being in the body, you need to develop a new plan for your life.
How to live after the procedure
Two to three hours after installing the balloon, the patient can go home. But many doctors are inclined to believe that the first night should be spent in the hospital. There may be nausea and vomiting. Nothing can be done about these symptoms at home, but in the hospital doctors can help with complications.
During the 6 months that the balloon is in the body, you need to take omeprazole, 30 mg every day.
After a few days, the body will get used to the fact that there is a foreign body in it, and all unpleasant symptoms will go away.
Intragastric balloon placement
Cylinder installation procedure
The process of fixing the balloon itself is a therapeutic method, which is designed to maximum suppress the feeling of hunger and reduce fat deposits. This treatment system was developed for that category of people who do not get a pronounced effect from diet and exercise. In addition, if you evaluate the risks of liposuction and installation of a gastric balloon, then the second method will be safer and more effective.
Gastric balloon placement is a minimally invasive procedure. It will be an excellent alternative for that category of people for whom surgical interventions are contraindicated. For operations, a silicone balloon BIB™ (USA) is used, which has a special patent and permission.
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Over many years of practice, a special professional system has been developed that allows the installation of these gastric balloons without any harm to health. Numerous reviews and extensive experience indicate the successful use of this equipment without the use of additional medications and other techniques.
How to remove the balloon
This is what the balloon looks like before being placed in the stomach
After 6 months you need to come to the hospital to have the balloon removed. If the patient felt unwell during this time and was constantly bothered by something, removal occurs ahead of schedule.
The device is removed on an empty stomach. Doctors will first prescribe painkillers.
After the patient has fallen asleep, a gastroscope is inserted into the stomach.
During the stay of the balloon in the body, its color changes, it acquires a brown tint.
Doctors prick it with a needle and gently suck out the fluid, after which it will subside. Then, using clamps, the doctor removes it from the body along with the gastroscope.
Just like during installation, you need to spend several hours in the hospital; if no complications arise, you can go home.
Food for thought
Gastric ballooning is a wonderful invention in medicine. The balloon is completely safe for the body - it is smooth and can take the shape of the stomach. Complications do occur, but not as often.
An interesting fact is that treatment in this way is useful in another area. The weight loss is about the same as when a ring is placed on the stomach. How much weight the patient can lose depends only on him. There are no restrictions on this figure.
The procedure is also safe in that although it is an intervention in the body, it is not surgical. And therefore, the consequences are not so serious.
The principle of operation of a weight loss balloon
How does the balloon work?
The intragastric balloon is filled inside with a special liquid, due to which it can occupy some part of the stomach, reducing it . This function gives a feeling of fullness when there is no food in the stomach. At the same time, appetite decreases, and there is no desire to constantly chew something.
To increase the effectiveness of this method of losing weight, a special diet is being developed in parallel. Nutrition adjustments are carried out only under the supervision of a doctor, taking into account the physiological characteristics of the body. During this period, patients must develop the correct daily routine and the correct attitude towards nutrition as such.
A gastric balloon helps:
- Reduce the amount of food consumed;
- Change eating behavior patterns;
- Lose weight in a short time;
- Bring metabolism in the body back to normal through a rational supply of vitamins and minerals.
After installing the balloon, patients may experience physiological discomfort for the first time. Over time, obese people think less about the number of meals they eat, since each of them will cause a feeling of heaviness and satiety.
The balloon, inserted into the stomach cavity, is filled inside with a special physiological solution. It is made of a special seamless material. This device is used only for persons with a body mass index of more than 30 kg/sq. m, and this procedure is performed only on persons who have reached the age of majority.
Sometimes situations may arise that excess weight and obesity do not allow other procedures. In this case, the gastric balloon is inserted according to indications depending on the patient’s condition.
Installation of a cylinder may require the following procedures:
- Joint prosthetics;
- Gynecological operations;
- Arthroplasty;
- Shunting.
In this situation, obesity becomes a serious problem, since long-term anesthesia and work on those parts of the body where subcutaneous fat is located in large quantities may be necessary. The decision to carry out such a procedure is made by a commission of doctors, taking into account all possible risks and contraindications.
In general, the expected result from the operation is the loss of half of the body fat. As doctors point out, the effect of such manipulation is lifelong. But, nevertheless, there is a certain possibility that the gastroballoon may need to be removed, since it is foreign to the human body and a backlash may occur.
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It is also necessary to take into account the fact that this procedure does not give a pronounced positive effect in individuals who have a body weight above 150 kg. Some people also have difficulty accepting the fact that there is something foreign inside the body. For this reason, it is necessary to remove the balloon from the stomach based on the mental state of the patient.
Before deciding to install a cylinder, take into account the list of contraindications:
Esophagitis
- Esophageal strictures;
- Esophagitis;
- Gastric resection;
- HH;
- Pregnancy;
- Stomach ulcer;
- Taking coagulants;
- Liver diseases;
- Epilepsy;
- Observation by a narcologist.
Individual health status is also taken into account. After all, the procedure itself, although minimally invasive, is quite unpleasant.
