Looking to shed those extra pounds quickly and painlessly? Maintaining a strict diet and a regular exercise regimen are popular ways to lose weight, but sometimes, we need a little extra help in achieving our weight-loss goals.

Not all of us are open to the idea of getting bariatric surgery done, since the idea of going under the knife can be intimidating. Luckily, there is another way to get rid of excess fat without having to undergo bariatric surgery: the Orbera gastric balloon.

How Does the Orbera Gastric Balloon Work?

The Orbera intra-gastric balloon is a soft balloon made of silicone. It is inserted into your stomach and helps you shed the pounds by inducing the feeling of fullness sooner. The gastric balloon achieves this in two ways:

Delaying the gastric emptying of waste from your body – Since the emptying time of the stomach is delayed, you will tend to feel fuller for a longer duration.

Reducing stomach capacity – The balloon constricts the stomach muscles, tightening them and reducing the available space in the stomach. This makes it easier to reduce your food-portion sizes considerably.

What Are the Advantages of the Orbera Gastric Balloon?

The Orbera gastric balloon comes with the following advantages:

• It is a safe and non-surgical weight-loss option.
• It is just a 20-minute procedure.
• It is reversible.
• It is a one-day procedure, requiring the patient to stay in the hospital for a maximum of four to five hours, including admission, procedure, and paperwork.
• It is placed in the stomach for just a six-month period.

The Placement Procedure

Placement of the Orbera balloon is a 20-minute procedure done in just one day in the hospital. You will first be sedated, then the deflated balloon will be carefully placed into your stomach using an endoscope (a camera on a thin, long tube) through your mouth. The images from the camera are transmitted to a monitor.

The balloon will then be slowly and carefully filled with sterile salt water through a small port in the balloon. It can remain in the stomach safely for up to six months. After six months, the Orbera balloon is removed through the mouth in the same way it was placed.

After Placement

The Orbera balloon is only a tool to help you lose weight. It gives you a kickstart by controlling your food portion sizes and delaying the emptying of waste from your stomach. This is to give you time to develop healthy and sustainable lifestyle habits – habits that should last well beyond the six-month balloon placement.

This weight-loss method will not work if you don’t eat healthily and exercise regularly. The more you stick to this, the faster you will be able to lose weight and the more weight you will be able to lose – approximately 11 to 13% TBWL, or Total Body Weight Loss.

Get Started Today

Speaking with Dr. David Davtyan, a skilled medical professional who is board-certified in Surgery and Bariatric Medicine, is the best way to find out more about the Orbera gastric balloon. To schedule a consultation, contact us today.