Correction of excess body weight by restriction of the stomach with an intragastric balloon

Obesity has become one of the most common chronic diseases today. In many industrialized countries, the number of patients with metabolic syndrome has doubled over the past decade.

Subjects and methods. In order to reduce excess weight, an intragastric balloon was installed in 100 patients: in 90 patients a Perfect Shape device (Russia) and 10 – BIB-System (USA). The age of the patients is from 24 to 56 years (on average – 38.7±8.4). The ratio of women to men was 1.6:1. The average height was 169.7±9.3 cm (from 155 to 193 cm), the average body weight was 111.0±23.6 kg (from 63 to 207 kg), average BMI – 38.5±6.9 kg/m² (from 26.2 to 75.3 kg/m²), and overweight – 46.2±20.4 kg. The residence time of the balloon in the stomach varied from 3 to 12 months and averaged 8.1±1.9 months.

Results. The effectiveness of the method does not depend on the age of the patients; it is slightly higher in the first 6 months of restriction compared with a longer stay of the balloon in the stomach. Results were dependent on baseline body weight, gender, length of time the device was in the stomach, and re-insertions. The best results were obtained in women with a BMI of 29 to 39.9 kg/m² with a duration of stay in the stomach up to 6 months. Re-insertion of the intragastric balloon made it possible to stabilize body weight, but did not result in significant additional weight loss.