Short-term results of intragastric balloon for management of Egyptian obese patients

Abstract

Background Obesity is considered one of the major health problems because of its high incidence and associated comorbidities. Various therapeutic options are available for obesity management, and there has been advancement in bariatric surgery with introduction and development of new techniques. Objective To evaluate the short-term outcomes of intragastric balloon (IGB) in terms of weight loss, tolerance, complications, and its effect on comorbidities. Patients and methods This study included 86 morbidly obese patients who were subjected to IGB with follow-up for a minimum of 1 year. Follow-up was in the form of recording of postprocedure symptoms, complications, and the effect of the procedure on weight loss after 6 months and at 1 year in the form of percentage excess weight loss and percentage excess BMI loss. Results Preoperative BMI ranged from 35.2 to 57.8 kg/m2, with a mean of 42.9±4.8 kg/m2. At 6 months, BMI decreased to 29.4–50.8 kg/m2, with a mean of 37.1±4.2 kg/m2, whereas at the 12 months, it significantly increased to 29.8–51.6 kg/m2, with a mean of 38.7±4.5 kg/m2 when compared with 6 months postoperatively. Conclusion IGB is effective at very short term in weight reduction and improving associated comorbidities with acceptable adverse effects, but weight regain occurred after IGB removal.