Review
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2021. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastrointest Endosc. Aug 16, 2021; 13(8): 238-259
Published online Aug 16, 2021. doi: 10.4253/wjge.v13.i8.238
Six intragastric balloons: Which to choose?
George Stavrou, Anne Shrewsbury, Katerina Kotzampassi
George Stavrou, Department of Colorectal Surgery, Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge CB22QQ, United Kingdom
Anne Shrewsbury, Katerina Kotzampassi, Department of Surgery, Endoscopy Unit, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki 54636, Greece
Author contributions: Stavrou G performed the literature review, drafted and critically revised the manuscript; Shrewsbury AD performed language editing, drafted and critically revised the manuscript; Kotzampassi K conceived the original idea, performed the literature review, drafted and critically revised the manuscript; all authors have read and approve the final manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors declare no conflict of interest for this article
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (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/
Corresponding author: George Stavrou, MD, PhD, Surgeon, Department of Colorectal Surgery, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Hills Road, Cambridge CB22QQ, United Kingdom. stavgd@gmail.com
Received: March 10, 2021
Peer-review started: March 10, 2021
First decision: May 5, 2021
Revised: May 17, 2021
Accepted: July 13, 2021
Article in press: July 13, 2021
Published online: August 16, 2021
Processing time: 154 Days and 8 Hours
Abstract

Endoscopically placed intragastric balloons (IGBs) have played a significant role in obesity treatment over the last 30 years, successfully bridging the gap between lifestyle modification/pharmacotherapy and bariatric surgery. Since they provide a continuous sensation of satiety that helps the ingestion of smaller portions of food, facilitating maintenance of a low-calorie diet, they have generally been considered an effective and reversible, less invasive, non-surgical procedure for weight loss. However, some studies indicate that balloons have limited sustainable effectiveness for the vast majority attempting such therapy, resulting in a return to the previous weight after balloon removal. In this review we try to summarize the pros and cons of various balloon types, to guide decision making for both the physician and the obese individual looking for effective treatment. We analyzed the six most commonly used IGBs, namely the liquid-filled balloons Orbera, Spatz3, ReShape Duo and Elipse, and the gas-filled Heliosphere and Obalon - also including comments on the adjustable Spatz3, and the swallowable Obalon and Elipse - to optimize the choice for maximum efficacy and safety.

Keywords: Obesity; Intragastric balloon; Fluid-filled balloons; Gas-filled balloons; Swallowable balloons

Core Tip: Intragastric balloons have played a significant role in the management of obesity. Their easy application, reversibility and good short-term results have led to the development of a wide variety of balloon types. However, long-term results are not as good, and concerns about complications have also arisen. We tried to analyze the characteristics and effectiveness of the 6 most popular balloon types, in order to provide guidance in choosing the most appropriate balloon for each patient.