Weight Loss Surgery – Stomach Balloons
The last 20+ years have presented a number of different surgical solutions for beating obesity – gastric bypass and band included.
Yet despite the 2006 directive which demanded all Surgeries to have expert surgeons and tools, these types of weight loss surgeries are still prone to causing health risks.
Even considering recent enhancements where complication rates have fallen from 12.2% of patients to 10%, and the 30 day mortality rate has shrunk from 0.28% to 0.20% (a 0.08% drop) – these enhancements are minimal when you add to the equation the percentage of slimmers who undertake these surgeries every single year…
However, this could soon all be changing if the ReShape Medical’s double balloon meets the approval of the FDA.
Created to help obese patients who fall just below or above eligibility guidelines for gastric bypass and band placement cosmetic procedures, or who are too young for such critical surgeries; the dual action balloon system could easily cater for this excluded group of individuals.
As it stands, the dual balloon system is inserted down a patient’s throat using a tube before being expanded with saline.
As these two oval balloons are filled, patients will soon will feel full and will naturally be able to reduce their meal portions and lose weight.
More excitingly, once patients reach their weight loss objective, this double balloon device can easily by deflated and removed from the stomach without being cosmetically removed.
As we speak, this device is scheduled to perform its first clinical study at the beginning of spring where 30 consumers across 3 centers will be implanted with the balloon.
Should it prove safe and effective, this clinical trial will be expanded to 350 patients across ten surgeries and eventually will be presented to the Food and Drug Administration for approval.
Does it work?
It is undisputable that this balloon device could essentially help hundreds of dieters who are either under 18 or suffer from diabetes, heart disease and muscle problems to lose those excess lbs, but this double balloon system has got far to travel before it is approved.
Back in 1984 a similar single balloon mechanism was created by Garren-Edwards and was implanted into patients.
However, with no backup membrane to protect it from punctures, this balloon was prone to rupturing and entering into the small intestine where it caused serious blockages.
As a result this product was quickly taken off the market.
