The problem of overweight in the modern world is already becoming an epidemic. Throughout the media, one can find various notes on the negative effects of obesity. Many methods have already been developed to eliminate extra pounds.
Various diets, both isolated and in combination with physical exercises, training complexes of fitness, yoga, other techniques, medical and surgical correction are far from a complete list of the possibilities of modern dietetics. But all of them imply a severe restriction in nutrition. For those who have weak willpower , a special method of controlling weight has been developed, which consists in “deceiving” the body regarding the amount of food eaten - a gastric balloon.
Anatomy and physiology of the stomach. Quick reference
The stomach is an enlarged part of the digestive canal, between the esophagus and the duodenum. With a normal adult volume of up to two liters, this “storage bag” delays food for an hour or two, exposing it to gastric juice. In the digestive solution, in addition to hydrochloric acid, there are a number of enzymes. The main objective of gastric juice is the chemical destruction of the proteins of food eaten.
The stomach is located in the left hypochondrium. Anatomically, without going into details, it is distinguished in it: the bottom, body and pyloric part. The pyloric department is the place where the stomach passes into the duodenum, is equipped with a sphincter, the pylorus. Its task is to regulate the release of food mass into the intestines. Digestion occurs directly in the stomach. And the bottom is interesting because there, among other things, baro receptors are located - special sensitive zones that send a signal to the center of saturation of the brain.
Opt for an intragastric balloon
Throughout its history, mankind has sought to find solutions that make life easier. This feature was the driving force of progress. Thanks to her, the wheel, the steam engine and all other significant discoveries were invented.
From the point of view of modern nutrition, the gastric balloon used since the nineties of the twentieth century can also be attributed to this. His invention literally turned over the principles of the fight against overweight. Thanks to a fairly simple procedure for installing the balloon inside the stomach, the carrier of extra pounds no longer has to suffer from diets, exhausting physical exercises. There is no need to carry out radical surgical measures to reduce the volume and even impose a bandage on the stomach.
The results after endoscopic administration of an intragastric balloon amaze with their numbers in a systematic and significant decrease in body weight. According to studies of various clinics with a very long experience in this procedure, the decrease varies by 16-23% from the initial weight of the patient.
Cylinder Installation Technique
Before the balloon is installed, the patient undergoes a mandatory examination. It includes consultation of a nutritionist and gastroenterologist, with a mandatory examination of the motor and enzymatic function of the stomach, an assessment of the structure of its mucosa. Necessary analyzes and studies are performed. Indications and degrees of risk of complications are determined.
With favorable examination results, the patient is assigned a hospitalization date. Staying in a hospital involves one day, and the installation of a gastric balloon lasts about half an hour. It is carried out under the supervision of a gastroscope. The patient feels that the procedure is not much different from fibroesophagogastroduodenoscopy. Local anesthesia is used, although in a number of clinics, for short-term comfort, for those who decide to lose weight, short-term anesthesia is used.

An empty balloon is inserted into the stomach cavity. A catheter is attached to it through a radiopaque (visible on x-ray photographs) valve - a tube with a diameter of up to 7 mm with a wire guide inside. After insertion of the balloon, the conductor is removed and, through the catheter, the cavity of the ball made of medical silicone rubber is filled with physiological saline. The volume varies from 500 to 700 milliliters. The tube is disconnected from the valve and removed. A visual check of the correct installation of the balloon is carried out, a gastroscope is removed - the procedure for installing a gastric balloon ends.
Recommendations after the procedure
A feeling of constant fullness of the stomach can be periodically accompanied by nausea and / or a feeling of discomfort (pain) in the stomach. Also, with insufficient filling of the balloon, there may be a pronounced feeling of hunger. If these symptoms appear, you must contact the clinic where the procedure was done to correct the volume or to consult a specialist on the use of drugs.
The patient from the first hours after the procedure should withstand strict restrictions on food intake. So, during the first day only liquid dishes are allowed. The gradual introduction of solid food into the diet should go strictly according to the schedule prescribed by the attending physician. Do not exceed the allowed amount of a single meal and liquid. A number of products (increasing the acidity of gastric juice and carbonated drinks) are excluded from the diet altogether.
Depending on the modification, the gastric balloon is installed for a period of six months or a year. All this time requires the use of drugs that reduce acidity prescribed by your doctor. Omeprozole preparations are usually prescribed.
Also at this time, the patient needs to change his lifestyle. Playing sports and changing gastronomic priorities will consolidate the effect of the food restrictor and significantly improve long-term results. This will stabilize the weight at the achieved level.
Feedback from past patients
A sufficiently effective reduction in body weight without pronounced effort on the part of the patient after removing the balloon may result in the opposite effect. Statistics show that only a third of those who pass the procedure strictly adhere to recommendations on changing their lifestyle.
For this reason, most of those who have or have already removed a gastric balloon, reviews give conflicting and not always objective. First of all, one should listen to those who, after completing a nutritional restriction, have not returned to uncontrolled calorie intake and are physically active.
Issue price
More and more overweight people choose a gastric balloon as a method for losing weight. Its price, along with installation and removal, is orders of magnitude lower than long subscriptions to the fitness center, courses of diet pills, and nutrition of exceptionally healthy foods. And when compared with other bariatric methods, this procedure is also less invasive and safer. The cost of installing a balloon taking into account anesthesia is 50-60 thousand rubles. To extract it from the stomach, you will have to pay another 15,000 rubles.
Additional information on the site
The site will tell you about the gastric balloon - bariatria.rf. It contains detailed information about the method, procedure, recommendations, clinics and much more. You can also find out what steps should be taken to normalize weight.
Absolute contraindications
No matter how wonderful this method may be, it, like any treatment, has a number of contraindications. Absolute, categorically prohibiting the introduction of a gastric balloon, are:
- age up to 14 years;
- pregnancy and breastfeeding;
- performed operations on the abdominal cavity, including gynecological;
- the presence of inflammatory diseases and / or potential sources of bleeding in the digestive tract;
- the presence of a hernia of the diaphragm, constrictions and other abnormalities in the development of the pharynx, esophagus or stomach;
- the need for continuous use of a number of drugs;
- mental illness, alcoholism and / or drug addiction and several others.
The purpose of the procedure for installing a gastric balloon should be confirmed by its necessity. It is possible with the ineffectiveness of non-invasive treatment and only after a thorough examination of the patient.