Editorial
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2017. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Nov 28, 2017; 23(44): 7813-7817
Published online Nov 28, 2017. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v23.i44.7813
Advances in endoscopic balloon therapy for weight loss and its limitations
Dinesh Vyas, Kaivalya Deshpande, Yagnik Pandya
Dinesh Vyas, Department of Surgery, Texas Tech University, Odessa, TX 79763, United States
Kaivalya Deshpande, Department Of Surgery, Michigan State University, Lansing, MI 48912, United States
Yagnik Pandya, Department of Surgery, MetroWest Medical Center, Natick, MA 01760, United States
Author contributions: Vyas D contributed with concept design; Vyas D, Deshpande K and Pandya Y contributed with research, writing and final approval.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors have no stated conflicts of interest related to this publication.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Dinesh Vyas, MD, FACS, Associate Dean of Surgery Research, Department of Surgery, Texas Tech University, 701 West 5th Street, Suite 2263, Odessa, TX 79763, United States. dvyas@sjgh.org
Telephone: +1-314-680134 Fax: +1-314-2607609
Received: October 5, 2017
Peer-review started: October 7, 2017
First decision: October 25, 2017
Revised: November 4, 2017
Accepted: November 15, 2017
Article in press: November 15, 2017
Published online: November 28, 2017
Processing time: 53 Days and 0.9 Hours
Abstract

The field of medical and surgical weight loss is undergoing an explosion of new techniques and devices. A lot of these are geared towards endoscopic approaches rather than the conventional and more invasive laparoscopic or open approach. One such recent advance is the introduction of intrgastric balloons. In this article, we discuss the recently Food and Drug Administration approved following balloons for weight loss: the Orbera™ Intragastric Balloon System (Apollo Endosurgery Inc, Austin, TX, United States), the ReShape® Integrated Dual Balloon System (ReShape Medical, Inc., San Clemente, CA, United States), and the Obalon (Obalon® Therapeutics, Inc.). The individual features of each of these balloons, the method of introduction and removal, and the expected weight loss and possible complications are discussed. This review of the various balloons highlights the innovation in the field of weight loss.

Keywords: Weight loss; Gastric balloons; Endoscopic balloons; Orbera; Obalon; Reshape

Core tip: This review has been elucidated through a comparison of the strengths and weaknesses of recent balloon approaches, highlighting the indications and possible complications.