Balloon for Weight Loss

Reported September 08, 2009

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- About 130 million Americans are considered obese. That number is expected to double by 2050. Doctors are looking for new ways to help people before they hit the obesity benchmark.

One experimental procedure is a temporary fix that aims to teach lifelong lessons.

Jennifer Ramsey wanted to lose her "baby body."

"I think, in both of those pregnancies, I put on more weight than I should have," Ramsey told Ivanhoe.

At 180 pounds, her diet and exercise plan wasn't working, but she wasn't heavy enough for surgery.

"Why isn't there something available for someone who is starting to get heavy?" Ramsey wondered.

Ramsey was the perfect size for a clinical trial designed for people who need to lose 50 to 100 pounds.

"One of the advantages is it's less invasive," George Woodman, M.D., a general bariatric surgeon at Baptist Memorial Hospital-Memphis, told Ivanhoe. "There's no surgery involved. Generally, the patient doesn't go to sleep, go on a breathing machine."

While the patient is sedated doctors insert a balloon down the throat into the stomach. Then, they inflate it with saline.

"It takes up a portion of the stomach," Dr. Woodman explained. "The stomach only expands to a certain amount and just by having a balloon taking up space can help patients feel full."

The balloon stays in for six months. Then, it's removed. The goal is to retrain the stomach and the brain to tell when enough is enough.

"It's really up to them to use lessons learned to realize that they don't need as much food," Dr. Woodman said.

In an Italian study, patients lost 22 pounds more with the balloon compared to diet and exercise and kept the weight off longer.

Ramsey's baby body turned into a bikini body. After the balloon was removed, she continued exercising and eating smaller portions. She dropped 40 pounds and four dress sizes.

"I want to lose a little bit more," she said.

The experiment won't do the work for Ramsey, but it did jumpstart her weight loss.

The balloon is already widely-used in Europe. Patients are typically nauseous for a few days after the balloon is inserted, and they have to stay on a liquid diet for the first week.

Results from the FDA trial are expected within the next year. If the trial is successful, doctors say this could be an option for overweight children, seniors or others who aren't strong enough for weight-loss surgery.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
George Woodman, M.D.
Baptist Weight Loss Center
Memphis, TN
(901) 869-2000