Prev: Feels like I ate too much
Next: On satiety
From: Rick Hernder on 19 Nov 2005 20:42
This article appeared in The Edmonton journal Thursday.

http://www.canada.com/edmonton/edmontonjournal/news/bodyandhealth/story.html?id=4b606863-8c7d-447d-9bc3-d64321da5c38

MONTREAL - In a North American first, doctors in Montreal on Wednesday
placed air-filled balloons in the stomachs of two obese patients to help
them shed weight.

The device, the size of a softball, floats in the stomach and makes patients
feel full soon after eating. What's unique is that it doesn't require
surgery.

Patients are sedated, and a doctor inserts the device into the stomach
through a tube in the mouth. Once in place, the triple-layered silicone
balloon is inflated. The procedure takes no longer than 15 minutes.

Six to eight months later, the patient returns to have the balloon deflated
and removed. Studies have shown that patients lose up to 30 kilograms solely
because of the balloon.

"This is going to have a tremendous impact in fighting obesity," said
Clifford Albert, who helped places the balloons in the patients at the MD
Specialists clinic in Westmount.

"The beauty of this device is that it's a completely reversible solution.
It's an easier and quicker way to treat obesity than gastric bypass surgery,
which is permanent."

Mirielle Dube, a 65-year-old retired hospital worker, walked out of the
clinic with a smile on her face after having the balloon placed in her
stomach under local anesthesia.

"I'm confident that I'll be able to play with my two granddaughters again,"
said Dube, who is 5-foot-2 and weighs 187 pounds.

Dube gained considerable weight three years ago after she stopped her daily
walks because of a foot injury. She confessed to eating lots of fast-food
and bread, and has tried all the fad diets in vain.

"I would never consider gastric bypass surgery," she said. "It's too
dangerous and the waiting lists are too long. Hopefully, this balloon will
give me the momentum to change my eating habits."

Health Canada approved the balloon last December. The device and procedure
costs $3,500 per patient and is not covered under medicare.

There are some side effects like acid reflux, nausea in the days after the
procedure and mild pain in the upper curvature of the stomach that could
radiate to the shoulder.

Dube said she felt fine, though, an hour after the procedure.

The balloon is manufactured in France by Helioscopie SA. Since it was
approved in that country in April 2004, doctors have placed more than 1,300
in patients.

It's a second-generation technology. There is another intra-gastric balloon,
manufactured by BioEnterics Corporation, that is filled with a saline
solution. A study by a French gastroenterologist has shown that the rate of
complications from the saline-filled balloon is much higher than the
air-filled one.

"The advantage to this balloon is that it positions itself to the top of the
stomach, where there are receptors that give a sensation of being full,"
explained Hubert Cluadez, author of the study.

The balloon was initially recommended for the morbidly obese to help them
lose weight before risky gastric-bypass surgery. But doctors discovered that
the balloon could also render surgery unnecessary.

Gastric-bypass surgery, which drastically changes the anatomy of the
stomach, has a death rate of two per 100 patients in the first month after
an operation, increasing to five in the first year. Its $30,000 cost is
covered under medicare.

Albert, who has the North American rights to the balloon, suggested that it
makes sense to have the device covered under medicare because it would be
cheaper and more effective than surgery.

Still, no follow-up studies have been performed to determine whether
patients have succeeded in keeping their weight down several years later.
This raises the possibility of a yo-yo effect: a patient losing weight in
the first year after the procedure, only to regain it the next.

Albert agreed that patients must exercise and eat healthy foods to maintain
their ideal weight. However, he argued that the balloon is a much safer
alternative to gastric banding or gastric bypass surgery.

Joseph Bodokh, a 32-year-old Kosher food inspector who also underwent the
procedure Wednesday, acknowledged he might regain weight after the balloon
is removed in six months.

"If that happens, I'll have the balloon placed in my stomach again," said
Bodokh, who weighs 332 pounds. "I've tried all the diets and weight-loss
pills and nothing has worked. And I don't want to undergo surgery."

The balloon is recommended for people with a body mass index of 30 to 40;
those with Type II diabetes whose disease is difficult to control because of
excessive body weight; and for those who are morbidly obese and who need to
shed weight to make them safer candidates for gastric bypass surgery.

Obesity is now considered to be an epidemic in Canada. A 2004 study found
that obesity-related deaths have more than doubled over 15 years.
Researchers from Queen's University attributed 57,181 deaths during that
period to obesity.

For more information about the balloon log on to www.triumphobesity.com


From: Annie Benson Lennaman on 20 Nov 2005 03:31


Ignoramus23281 wrote:
>
> That's interesting, but makes me wonder if the same result (fullness)
> can be accomplished by eating big salads before meals.

It is interesting. Perhaps it can be of use to some people, I
dunno. But still, it seems to me that the procedure is meant to be a
temporary one. The article mentions that it isn't known if this will
help people with keeping the weight off. I have to say I would be
surprised if it did, unless the patients were also learning how to
modify their eating habits that got them fat in the first place.

I can see how it would be an attractive alternative to surgery for
some souls. I'd never consider doing it myself, though.

--
Annie

As of 11-18-05: 258/202/140 Standing at 5 foot 4.

56 pounds lost. 62 left to go. Started February/07/05

Come visit my weight-loss web site, Annie Takes Off.
http://webpages.charter.net/lenny13/DietFrontPage.html
From: Carol Frilegh on 20 Nov 2005 09:09
In article <43803479.2943D8A8(a)real.people.only.yahoo.com>, Annie Benson
Lennaman <teapray(a)real.people.only.yahoo.com> wrote:

> Ignoramus23281 wrote:
> >
> > That's interesting, but makes me wonder if the same result (fullness)
> > can be accomplished by eating big salads before meals.

It wouldn't work for me as I have Latex Allergy.

Diva
From: Cubit on 20 Nov 2005 10:09
Since medical personnel stopped using latex even in their gloves, I suspect
their balloon is made of something else.


"Carol Frilegh" <cma(a)sympatico.ca> wrote in message
news:201120050909163635%cma(a)sympatico.ca...
> In article <43803479.2943D8A8(a)real.people.only.yahoo.com>, Annie Benson
> Lennaman <teapray(a)real.people.only.yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> > Ignoramus23281 wrote:
> > >
> > > That's interesting, but makes me wonder if the same result (fullness)
> > > can be accomplished by eating big salads before meals.
>
> It wouldn't work for me as I have Latex Allergy.
>
> Diva


From: Cubit on 20 Nov 2005 10:17
Thanks for the post. This sounds like it has great potential. A year ago,
with Hoodia and anti-fat pill research in mind, I was predicting that WLS
would soon be outmoded. I was wrong about Hoodia, but this balloon idea may
indeed be the alternative to WLS. It has to be much less dangerous. It
will be interesting to see some real statistics on results.

"Rick Hernder" <rhernder(a)telusplanet.net> wrote in message
news:SvQff.118602$y_1.60856(a)edtnps89...
> This article appeared in The Edmonton journal Thursday.
>
>
http://www.canada.com/edmonton/edmontonjournal/news/bodyandhealth/story.html?id=4b606863-8c7d-447d-9bc3-d64321da5c38
>
> MONTREAL - In a North American first, doctors in Montreal on Wednesday
> placed air-filled balloons in the stomachs of two obese patients to help
> them shed weight.
>
> The device, the size of a softball, floats in the stomach and makes
patients
> feel full soon after eating. What's unique is that it doesn't require
> surgery.
>
> Patients are sedated, and a doctor inserts the device into the stomach
> through a tube in the mouth. Once in place, the triple-layered silicone
> balloon is inflated. The procedure takes no longer than 15 minutes.
>
> Six to eight months later, the patient returns to have the balloon
deflated
> and removed. Studies have shown that patients lose up to 30 kilograms
solely
> because of the balloon.
>
> "This is going to have a tremendous impact in fighting obesity," said
> Clifford Albert, who helped places the balloons in the patients at the MD
> Specialists clinic in Westmount.
>
> "The beauty of this device is that it's a completely reversible solution.
> It's an easier and quicker way to treat obesity than gastric bypass
surgery,
> which is permanent."
>
> Mirielle Dube, a 65-year-old retired hospital worker, walked out of the
> clinic with a smile on her face after having the balloon placed in her
> stomach under local anesthesia.
>
> "I'm confident that I'll be able to play with my two granddaughters
again,"
> said Dube, who is 5-foot-2 and weighs 187 pounds.
>
> Dube gained considerable weight three years ago after she stopped her
daily
> walks because of a foot injury. She confessed to eating lots of fast-food
> and bread, and has tried all the fad diets in vain.
>
> "I would never consider gastric bypass surgery," she said. "It's too
> dangerous and the waiting lists are too long. Hopefully, this balloon will
> give me the momentum to change my eating habits."
>
> Health Canada approved the balloon last December. The device and procedure
> costs $3,500 per patient and is not covered under medicare.
>
> There are some side effects like acid reflux, nausea in the days after the
> procedure and mild pain in the upper curvature of the stomach that could
> radiate to the shoulder.
>
> Dube said she felt fine, though, an hour after the procedure.
>
> The balloon is manufactured in France by Helioscopie SA. Since it was
> approved in that country in April 2004, doctors have placed more than
1,300
> in patients.
>
> It's a second-generation technology. There is another intra-gastric
balloon,
> manufactured by BioEnterics Corporation, that is filled with a saline
> solution. A study by a French gastroenterologist has shown that the rate
of
> complications from the saline-filled balloon is much higher than the
> air-filled one.
>
> "The advantage to this balloon is that it positions itself to the top of
the
> stomach, where there are receptors that give a sensation of being full,"
> explained Hubert Cluadez, author of the study.
>
> The balloon was initially recommended for the morbidly obese to help them
> lose weight before risky gastric-bypass surgery. But doctors discovered
that
> the balloon could also render surgery unnecessary.
>
> Gastric-bypass surgery, which drastically changes the anatomy of the
> stomach, has a death rate of two per 100 patients in the first month after
> an operation, increasing to five in the first year. Its $30,000 cost is
> covered under medicare.
>
> Albert, who has the North American rights to the balloon, suggested that
it
> makes sense to have the device covered under medicare because it would be
> cheaper and more effective than surgery.
>
> Still, no follow-up studies have been performed to determine whether
> patients have succeeded in keeping their weight down several years later.
> This raises the possibility of a yo-yo effect: a patient losing weight in
> the first year after the procedure, only to regain it the next.
>
> Albert agreed that patients must exercise and eat healthy foods to
maintain
> their ideal weight. However, he argued that the balloon is a much safer
> alternative to gastric banding or gastric bypass surgery.
>
> Joseph Bodokh, a 32-year-old Kosher food inspector who also underwent the
> procedure Wednesday, acknowledged he might regain weight after the balloon
> is removed in six months.
>
> "If that happens, I'll have the balloon placed in my stomach again," said
> Bodokh, who weighs 332 pounds. "I've tried all the diets and weight-loss
> pills and nothing has worked. And I don't want to undergo surgery."
>
> The balloon is recommended for people with a body mass index of 30 to 40;
> those with Type II diabetes whose disease is difficult to control because
of
> excessive body weight; and for those who are morbidly obese and who need
to
> shed weight to make them safer candidates for gastric bypass surgery.
>
> Obesity is now considered to be an epidemic in Canada. A 2004 study found
> that obesity-related deaths have more than doubled over 15 years.
> Researchers from Queen's University attributed 57,181 deaths during that
> period to obesity.
>
> For more information about the balloon log on to www.triumphobesity.com
>
>


 |  Next  |  Last
Pages: 1 2
Prev: Feels like I ate too much
Next: On satiety