Intragastric Balloon Treatment for Obesity: Results of a Large Single Center Prospective Study

The intragastric balloon is a widely used method in the treatment of obesity indicated for those patients who have failed to achieve and maintain the weight loss with conventional measures or for preparation of patients who are candidates for bariatric surgery. From April 2007 to April 2009, 171 consecutive patients (111 females, 60 males; mean age 39.2 +/- 10.5, mean weight 123.2 +/- 27.1 kg) were evaluated before and 6 months after bioenteric intragastric balloon (BIB) placement by assessment of anthropometric and biochemical parameters. The mean BMI during balloon treatment declined from 41.9 +/- 7.3 to 36.0 +/- 7.9 kg/m(2) (p < 0.001) with a percentage of excess weight loss of 39.7 +/- 23.6 and percentage of excess body mass index loss of 39.5 +/- 25.1. A significant improvement in blood pressure, glycemia, and triglyceride level but not in total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels was seen. Results of this large prospective single center study confirmed that intragastric balloon is useful and safe method for promoting weight loss. Due to improvement of metabolic parameters, treatment with BIB results in reduction of cardiovascular risk and provides a sustained benefit on liver function in obese patients.