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The Benefits of Intragastric Balloon Devices for Patients Not Ready for Bariatric Surgery
For many patients who are seriously overweight, the challenge of dropping pounds without weight loss surgery can be difficult. But now, new intragastric balloon devices have been approved by the FDA, were highlighted at this year’s ObesityWeek, and offer hope to millions of people.
Principal investigator for the ReShape™ clinical trial Dr. Jaime Ponce explains how this alternative to weight loss surgery showed a significant weight loss advantage for obese patients who are unable to achieve weight loss goals with diet and exercise alone.
“Patients being treated with diet and exercise modifications with the added dual balloon exceeded 2.3 times more weight loss than without the balloon,” said Ponce.
Dr. Ponce also clarifies the importance of understanding the various methods of treating obese patients, noting that patients with less severe obesity/mild obesity are usually treated with diet and lifestyle modifications, including pharmacotherapy. The other population segment — severely obese patients — is often treated with surgery. However, there is an additional segment that until now has been overlooked: patients in between diet and surgery. These patients include those who have not been able to achieve sufficient weight loss through diet and exercise alone, are not candidates for weight loss procedures such as gastric bypass or lap band surgery, or are simply afraid of weight loss surgery and are looking for an alternative.
“What we want to do is engage this segment of patients into a treatment plan that will help them adopt new ways to start eating, and new ways that incorporate healthy lifestyle changes,” said Ponce.
One way of doing so is with the introduction of the ReShape Procedure. Not only is this gastric balloon technology expected to help a wide range of weight loss patients facing risks such as diabetes and heart failure, it can also help the millions who qualify for weight loss surgery, and cannot or will not risk a surgical procedure.
For more information on how you can grow your practice with ReShape, click here.
