Intragastric balloons were developed as a restrictive endoscopic procedure for obesity treatment, with the intent of filling the stomach to induce early satiety. As a primary treatment for Class II/III obesity (BMI >35 kg/m2), patients should achieve a mean minimum threshold of 25 percent excess weight loss as measured at 12 months.2,11 Although there are ongoing trials for newer devices, there are currently four FDA-approved intragastric balloon devices: the ReShape Dual Integrated Balloon System (Apollo Endosurgery, Austin, TX), the Orbera Intragastric Balloon System (Apollo Endosurgery, Austin, TX), the Obalon Balloon System (Obalon Therapeutics, Carlsbad, CA) and the TransPyloric Shuttle (BAROnova, Inc., Goleta, CA). Of these four FDA-approved devices, only the Obalon Balloon system does not necessitate endoscopic placement. Apollo Endosurgery owns both the Reshape and the Orbera devices and is planning to phase out the Reshape device.
Prior to intragastric balloon placement, diagnostic endoscopy is...
