The Gastric Balloon
Because every patient's circumstances are different, OClinic offers a number of weightloss procedures to help you overcome obesity. All of our procedures include a comprehensive and ongoing aftercare program to help you achieve maximal results. OClinic is developing a specialised Gastric balloon program to cater for patients who do not qualify for gastric banding or the sleeve gastrectomy because their BMI is between 25 and 30. Patients in this weight range are overweight rather than obese, and often just need a helping kick-start to control their weight.
Its not surgery- and only requires a 4-hr stay
Also called the Orbera Balloon system, the gastric balloon is a saline-filled silicon balloon that is placed inside the stomach (in contrast to the gastric band which is placed around the outside of the stomach organ). This means that surgery is not required, and no incisions are made. It is inserted by a simple endoscopy through the mouth. Twilight sedation is used rather than a full general anaesthetic. It is performed as a day-only procedure.
(click here to read more about the Orbera gastric balloon on the Orbera website)
The gastric balloon works by generating a constant sense of stomach fullness. This allows a person to eat less as smaller meals become more satisfying, and hunger in between meals is reduced. Studies show the average weight loss with a gastric balloon to be around 15kg, most of which is lost within the first 3 months.
The major benefits of the gastric balloon include its safety profile, lack of invasiveness and reversibility. The lack of surgical incisions also appeals to many patients.
However nausea and refllux can be quite troublesome in the first 5-7 days until the stomach gets used to the presence of the balloon. To control this we use powerful medication to control both nausea and reflux at the time of insertion of the gastric balloon, and provide similar medication on discharge to cover this first week. In the vast majority of patients this medication regimen controls the unwanted symptoms very well, and everything settles down by the second week. However in a small number of patients the nausea can be difficult to control, and in rare circumstances we may even need to remove the balloon early.
Because the gastric balloon is in constant contact with the stomach acid, it must be removed after 6 months in order to prevent it deflating and becoming stuck in the small intestine. Studies show that this risk is extremely small if the balloon is only used for 6 months. We also add some blue dye to the saline inside the balloon, so that if it does collapse prematurely this can be diagnosed by a change in the colour of the bowel motions, allowing the collapsed balloon to be safely removed by an endoscopy. To safeguard against the gastric balloon inadvertently being left inside the stomach long term, we will make the arrangements for its removal after 6 months when we schedule your insertion endoscopy.
Because it is only designed for temporary use (unlike the gastric band or sleeve gastrectomy) the gastric balloon is best suited to patients with a less severe weight problem who desire a kick start. This usually means carrying less than 15 kg or less of extra weight, and not suffering from obesity related medical problems such as type 2 diabetes. The BMI of most of our gastric balloon patients is between 27 and 35. (click here to check your BMI)
We offer the gastric balloon at OClinic in conjunction with a 12-month aftercare program which provides nutritional, dietary and psychological support to maximise the likelihood of maintaining weightloss after the balloon is removed. The total cost of the balloon program including all hospital fees is $7836. It is not covered by private health insurance or Medicare, and therefore no additional rebates are available from these sources. However check with your accountant as you may be able to claim back a tax rebate of approximately $1267 under the medical expenses rebate safety net. Contact us on (02) 8197 9595 or email us at info@oclinic.com.au for further details.