Gastric Balloon

This article was updated on March 1st, 2024 at 10:54 am

Overweight is one of the most common problems around the world. In recent years, we can even see obesity among children. This is known as childhood obesity. In most cases, individuals with childhood obesity experience this problem in the future. With advancements in medicine and technology, it is possible to solve this problem. There are different obesity treatments like a gastric balloon.

Each overweight treatment is developed to offer a solution to specific problems. For example, the gastric balloon will help patients with weight problems to lose weight. This procedure helps patients to limit their daily food consumption. This way, the daily calorie intake of the patients will decrease. Over the long run, this decrease leads to weight loss as well.

Most of the time, people are concerned about overweight treatments. It is important to know what to expect from this procedure. Generally, these procedures have almost no side effects. Gastric balloon side effects are also rare. Additionally, knowing the procedure will increase the confidence level of patients. In this article, we will explain all the details of this procedure. Also, we will talk about who can be a good candidate for this procedure. After reading this article, you will have a general idea about what to expect from gastric balloon.

Gastric Balloon Procedure As Overweight Treatment

Gastric balloon procedure is one of the options for overweight treatment. This procedure is applied all around the world. A gastric balloon in Turkey is also a common application. Individuals in Turkey are also experiencing weight problems. For this reason, doctors in this country are becoming experts in these procedures.

gastric balloon

Before this procedure, patients with obesity problems need to follow certain rules. These rules include a strict diet and exercise. Patients are asked to follow a diet and exercise program given by the doctor. This way, doctors can see the dedication of the patient. One of the most important factors in these procedures is the mindset to lose weight. It is important to lose some weight before the operation.

In the case of overweight, doctors use these procedures as a last resort. First, patients are asked to follow a healthy lifestyle. Eating habits of these patients are changed with suitable new diets. Also, these diets are supported by suitable exercises. A combination of diet and exercise can make a difference in patients with excessive weight.

However, in most cases, diet and exercise cannot offer a solution to obese people. Obesity is hard t solve compared to excessive weight. In the case of obesity, individuals gain excessive weight that cannot be lost with diet or exercise. In this case, the gastric balloon offers a solution. This procedure can be applied as an obesity treatment.

Is Gastric Balloon a Surgery?

Unlike other obesity treatment, gastric balloon procedure is a non-surgical procedure. This means patients do not need to worry about going into surgery. Also, as a non-surgical procedure, risks associated with gastric balloon are relatively lower than other surgical overweight treatments. However, this balloon must be removed after 6 months. For this reason, gastric balloon weight loss will continue until six months. After the balloon is removed, patients need to be careful about what they eat.

How Is Gastric Balloon Applied?

In this procedure, a balloon is placed into the stomach. While doing that, special endoscopic tools are used. Doctors will enter from the throat and place the balloon inside the stomach. A special camera is used to properly place the balloon.

At first, the balloon is not inflated. When placed inside the stomach, the balloon is inflated. The special saline mixture is used for inflating gastric balloon. Generally, the entire procedure takes about 30-40 minutes.

What to Do After Procedure?

There are few rules to follow before and after the gastric balloon. By following these rules, patients experience an easy procedure process. Generally, these rules are about eating. Approximately 6 hours after the procedure, patients can consume liquids. This liquid diet will continue up to 2 weeks. Generally, a strict liquid diet is followed for the first 3 days.

After the first 3 days, semi-liquid foods might be added to the diet. However, patients need to wait for 2 weeks to consume solid foods. Also, it is important to give the body a chance to fit this new situation. If patients feel uncomfortable with semi-liquid or solid foods, they need to go back to the previous step. They need to follow this step until they feel comfortable about the transition to the next step.

There is one important thing to consider after this procedure. The gastric balloon will reduce the stomach volume. For this reason, a patient needs to consume less food that they are used to. Also, it is important to avoid fatty food. Fatty food or ice cream or carbonated drinks might cause discomfort. To prevent any negative situations, patients need to follow the diet program given by the doctor.

Who Can Have Gastric Balloon?

There are certain rules for the gastric balloon procedure. Patients need to meet certain criteria. For example, this procedure is recommended to individuals with BMI (body mass index) between 30 and 40. This category is considered obese.

Also, patients who want to have this procedure must be willing to make certain lifestyle changes. After this procedure, the eating habits of the patient will change. They will start to eat less and choose healthier food. At first, this could be a challenging change for most people.

Another thing to be considered before this procedure is related to health. Patients with prior stomach problems cannot have this operation. Also, patients who had esophageal surgery cannot have this procedure. Patients need to inform their doctors about these conditions.

Benefits and Risks of Gastric Balloon

Like many other procedures, this procedure also has certain risks. When we look at the gastric balloon pros and cons, we can see the benefits of this procedure. First, this procedure will help patients to lose weight. In most cases, patients who struggle in losing weight want to have this procedure. In the 6-month period, patients experience significant weight loss. When supported with adequate exercise, patients can maintain their weight after gastric balloon removal.

After the procedure, patients might experience nausea for a couple of hours. Also, some patients tend to vomit after this procedure. These two conditions are extremely normal. Since a balloon is placed inside the stomach, this balloon might cause discomfort for the first couple of days. But this discomfort will pass within a week.

IS THERE A CHANCE FOR STOMACH BALLOON TO BLOW UP?

The intragastric balloon does not blow up but it may have leakages, but that’s a very low possibility.

The reason why the stomach balloon is filled with blue paint is to detect the leakage easily. In case of a leakage in the stomach balloon, the patient’s urine is tempted to have a greenish color.

When this kind of scene occurs, the stomach balloon has to be checked if it is in the right location and if the capacity of the balloon has changed or not.

How to Choose a Gastric Balloon Clinic?

There are a ton of options when it comes to this procedure. Gastric balloon in İstanbul offers this procedure with expert doctors. Doctors and clinics in Turkey are experienced in this field. For this reason, patients who consider having gastric balloon abroad can consider Turkey as an option.

Another thing about Turkey is hospitability. Doctors and the medical team in Istanbul will welcome all patients. Gastric balloon prices in İstanbul are affordable for most of the patients. For this reason, more and more patients are choosing Turkey and İstanbul for their procedures. What is more, the patient can discover a beautiful city while they are recovering. İstanbul offers tons of options and different things to do when patients are recovering from their gastric balloon procedure. In this sense, İstanbul has become one of the top places in terms of this procedure and other medical procedures.