Noninvasive weight loss balloon to debut 6th China International Import Expo in Shanghai
Illustration of Orbera Intragastric Balloon Photo: Courtesy of Boston Scientific
Displayed at the expo by the US medical device maker Boston Scientific, the Orbera Intragastric Balloon is a single fluid-filled intragastric balloon approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the induction of weight loss and treatment of obesity.
Obesity is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a chronic disease. The WHO assesses the degree of “obesity” with body mass index (BMI), with a BMI exceeding 25 considered overweight and above 30 considered obese. According to Chinese standards, a BMI over 28 is classified as obese. Obesity can pose various health risks, including diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and even an increased risk of mortality.
The population of obese people in China are increasing, with more than 50 percent of adults being overweight or obese, with the proportion of obese people rising even faster than the overweight population, experts said at the second China Obesity Conference held in Beijing in July this year.
Experts pointed out that obesity has created a huge health and economic burden globally and has become a major public health issue in China. It is estimated that by 2030, China’s health expenditure related to overweight and obesity will account for about 22 percent of the total national medical expenditure.
Currently, there exist some medicines and gastric surgery options for treating obesity. However, medicines may lead to certain side effects such as nausea and vomiting, and gastric surgery is an invasive and irreversible procedure. However, the weight loss principle of Orbera can avoid all such side effects.
The gastric balloon is inserted orally through the patient’s esophagus and placed directly into his stomach during a quick, non-surgical procedure. Then, inject sterile normal saline of 400 cubic centimeters to 700 cubic centimeters into the balloon according to the patient’s weight loss needs to make the “water balloon” take up part of the space in the stomach. The balloon will stimulate the central nervous system to create a sense of satiety so that people don’t feel hungry, and thus eat less and lose weight, Boston Scientific told the Global Times on Wednesday.
This balloon was first approved for sale in Europe as early as 1997 and has been on the market for 26 years. More than 300,000 balloon procedures have been completed around the globe. In 2015, it received FDA approval. In the US, it is recommended for use in patients with poor medication control, offering them an alternative weight loss technique.
The first Orbera intragastric balloon surgery in China was accomplished in South China’s Hainan Province on January 5, 2023. The surgery only took 10 minutes and was effective for a patient diagnosed with a severe fatty liver and obesity at a weight of 107 kilograms, according to follow-up consultations.
Post surgery, patients need to adopt healthy lifestyle to ensure effective weight management, including increasing exercises and maintaining a balanced diet. After a maximum period of six months, the balloon can be removed, and the sterile normal saline inside the balloon will safely flow out through the digestive tract during the removal process.
The entire surgery process is safe to human body while the stomach can also be examined simultaneously of its condition through gastroscopy, Boston Scientific said.
So far, surpassing 552 peer reviewed theses on the Orbera Intragastric Balloon have been published across the world, with safe and effective data from more than 8,000 patients collected. According to available data, patients can lose weight an average of near 12.5 percent of their body weight within six months. Compared with patients strictly controlling diet and exercises, the weight loss effect of Orbera is 3.1 times that of the control group.
The Orbera Intragastric Balloon received US FDA’s Breakthrough Device Designation in March 2021.
RELATED ARTICLES
