Not everyone who needs to lose weight is eligible for extensive weight loss surgery, and not all want to take this drastic step. If you find it difficult to lose weight using diet and exercise, and you have 2-3 stones to lose, a Gastric Balloon is a non-surgical procedure to help you lose your excess weight over a period of six months up to sixteen months.

What is a Gastric Balloon?

A Gastric Balloon is a spherical ball that is placed into the stomach using endoscopy. The collapsed Gastric Balloon is introduced through the oesophagus, a procedure that you can have while conscious and just under mild sedation. No surgery is involved.

Once in place, the balloon is filled with sterile saline solution. It then occupies a significant proportion of the volume of the stomach.The principle is simple. The presence of the gastric balloon in the stomach means that there is less available space for food. When you eat, your stomach fills up more quickly, stimulating the receptors in the stomach wall to tell your brain that you are full.

You can eat smaller meals and still feel satisfied. Eating less will result in weight loss, particularly if you also do more exercise after having your Gastric Balloon is fitted.

The Procedure

A Gastric Balloon procedure takes just 15 minutes. It is performed in an outpatient setting under a mild sedative or light anaesthetic.

• Your weight loss surgeon will insert a deflated Gastric Balloon through your mouth, down your oesophagus and into your stomach using a thin, flexible tube with a light and camera on one end, called an endoscope.
• The balloon is then immediately filled with sterile saline through a small filling tube (catheter) that is attached to the balloon. After six or twelve months (depending on which one you have chosen), the Gastric Balloon is deflated and removed endoscopically in the same way it was inserted.

We also offer a self desolving Gastric Balloon for the duration of sixteen months. The balloon removes itself which means that there is no need to visit a doctor. After about 16 months part of the balloon dissolves, and the balloon will then empty itself and pass naturally.