- It is the only balloon on the market that does not require surgery, endoscopy or anaesthesia, either for its placement or removal
- HCB Hospitales offers a complete five-month health program with follow-up with the team of Nutritionists and a Smart Scale Kit and mobile application
- This technology, with 10 times fewer adverse effects than other endoscopic or surgical techniques, allows a large number of patients to benefit
The Obesity Unit of HCB Hospitales has incorporated the new Allurion ingestible gastric balloon into its treatments. It is the only balloon on the market that does not require surgery (neither endoscopy nor anaesthesia) for its placement, nor for its removal.
The ingestible balloon allows patients to lose between 10 and 15% of their body weight in four months and is offered exclusively at HCB Benidorm and HCB Dénia in the Marina Baja and Marina Alta.
The Obesity Unit team is responsible for guiding patients through a comprehensive and carefully studied five-month health program:
- Consultations with obesity specialists.
- Placement of the balloon.
- Follow-up with the HCB Hospitales Nutritionist team to design and implement a plan of new healthy lifestyle habits that will accompany weight loss.
- Smart scale kit and mobile application so that the patient can share their follow-up with the Obesity Unit professionals.
Dr. Antonio Alberola, specialist in Bariatric Surgery and Head of the Obesity Unit at HCB Hospitales, explained that “this balloon is a new technology that offers many advantages over endoscopic gastric balloons. To begin with, it does not require any surgery; it is placed without anaesthesia or sedation; it is expelled by the patient naturally; and it allows the loss of between 10 and 15 kilos in 16 weeks, almost completely reducing the possible adverse effects of endoscopic balloons and similar treatments.”
Rapid and permanent weight loss
This new procedure has many advantages; among others, that patients lose between 10 and 15% of their body weight in just 4 months. And the study of thousands of patients has shown that 96% of the lost weight is maintained after one year of follow-up and 80% of the total body weight loss is maintained on average after 3 years.
“The health program that accompanies the ingestible balloon is designed to minimize the feared rebound effect. The goal of the team of nutritionists is for patients to adopt new healthy habits that will accompany them throughout their lives and not just in the process of losing weight,” explained Dr. Beatriz Garrido, a specialist in Surgery at the HCB Hospitales Obesity Unit.
Placing the balloon without surgery or anaesthesia
The placement of the Allurion balloon is very simple and is performed in the hospital’s X-ray room in the presence of the surgeon. The patient swallows the capsule (which is slightly larger than a stomach protector) with water and only with the help of a thin probe.
Through radiological images, it is verified that the balloon has been correctly placed in the stomach and then it is filled with a special liquid. Once the probe is removed, the process is finished and the patient, after approximately 16 weeks, will evacuate the balloon naturally.
Dr. Álvaro Soler, a surgery specialist at the Obesity Unit at HCB Hospitales, explains that “the placement process is the part that worries patients the most, for fear of not being able to swallow the balloon. But the reality is that 99% of patients swallow it without any problem. In addition, specialists can help with a stylet so that the tube enters more quickly. After this, everything is practically done.”
Another concern is how they will feel after the balloon is placed. “It can be somewhat annoying at first; it is simply a matter of getting used to new sensations, such as being satiated easily. That is why we place the ingestible balloon on Fridays, so that they get used to it over the weekend. And here the Nutrition and Dietetics service plays a fundamental role, which will give nutritional guidelines for each moment of the process, especially the first few days.”
Who is the ingestible balloon for?
This technology, with 10 times fewer adverse effects than other endoscopic or surgical techniques, allows a large number of patients to benefit.
“The ease of placement and expulsion, the decrease in adverse effects and the reduction of problems associated with obesity when losing weight, make the ingestible balloon the best option for younger people, women with fertility problems and also older people, who cannot face surgery either due to their comorbidity or for other reasons. Another group of patients who may benefit are those who, due to their BMI, are candidates for bariatric surgery but cannot or do not wish to undergo surgery,” said Dr. Beatriz Garrido.
