Retrospective Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2017. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Apr 16, 2017; 5(4): 140-147
Published online Apr 16, 2017. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v5.i4.140
Efficacy of intragastric balloon on weight reduction: Saudi perspective
Ebtissam Saleh Almeghaiseeb, Muhammad Farooq Ashraf, Reem Abdullah Alamro, Abdulaziz Omar Almasoud, Abdulrahman Ali Alrobayan
Ebtissam Saleh Almeghaiseeb, Muhammad Farooq Ashraf, Reem Abdullah Alamro, Abdulaziz Omar Almasoud, Abdulrahman Ali Alrobayan, Prince Sultan Military Medical City, Riyadh 11159, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Author contributions: Ashraf MF involved in the study conception and design; Alamro RA acquired data; Almasoud AO analysis and interpretation of data; Alrobayan AA drafting of manuscript; Almeghaiseeb ES critical revision.
Institutional review board statement: The study was reviewed and approved by the Riyadh Military Hospital Institutional Review Board.
Informed consent statement: Due to the retrospective nature of the study, written consent was not obtained.
Conflict-of-interest statement: No potential conflicts of interest relevant to this article were reported.
Data sharing statement: Anonymized study data is available from the author at: e_meghaiseeb@hotmail.com.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (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/
Correspondence to: Dr. Ebtissam Saleh Almeghaiseeb, Prince Sultan Military Medical City, PO Box 7897, Riyadh 11159, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. e_meghaiseeb@hotmail.com
Telephone: +96-6591-290590
Received: September 1, 2016
Peer-review started: September 2, 2016
First decision: October 20, 2016
Revised: December 1, 2016
Accepted: January 2, 2017
Article in press: January 3, 2017
Published online: April 16, 2017
Abstract
AIM

To evaluate the safety and efficacy of intragastric balloon (IGB) in weight reduction in obese patients referred to a tertiary hospital in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

METHODS

Three hundred and one consecutive obese individuals, who underwent IGB placement during January 2009 to May 2015, were analyzed. The subjects aged 18 to 60 years and had a minimum body mass index (BMI) of 27 kg/m2. The IGB was placed under conscious sedation and kept for 6 mo. Anthropometric measurements were recorded during and after 6 mo of IGB removal.

RESULTS

The body weight, excess body weight, and BMI were significantly reduced at the time of IGB removal and 6 mo later. Body weight loss > 10% was achieved in 224 subjects at removal of IGB. End of treatment success and long-term success were both significantly observed in women (70 vs 11) (71 vs 12.5) respectively. Excess BMI loss was significantly higher in subjects retaining the IGB for over 6 mo both at the removal [43.44 ± 19.46 (n = 221) vs 55.60 ± 28.69 (n = 80); t = 4.19, P = 0.0001] as well as at the end of 6 mo’ follow-up [46.57 ± 24.89 (n = 221) vs 63.52 ± 31.08 (n = 80); t = 4.87, P = 0.0001]. Within 3 d of IGB placement, two subjects developed pancreatitis and one subject developed cardiac arrhythmia. Intestinal obstruction due to displacement of IGB occurred in two subjects. All these subjects recovered uneventfully after immediate removal of the IGB.

CONCLUSION

IGB was effective in our cohorts. The observed weight reduction was maintained for at least 6 mo post IGB removal. IGB placement was safe with a satisfactory tolerance rate.

Keywords: Weight reduction, Intragastric balloon, Saudi

Core tip: Intragastric balloon (IGB) is a minimally invasive option for weight reduction. Several studies have demonstrated its superiority to lifestyle changes in reducing the morbidity and mortality associated with morbid obesity. This study evaluated the safety and efficacy of Medsil IGB in weight reduction of patients referred for weight reduction to a tertiary center in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Endoscopic placement and keeping the Medsil IGB in situ for six months was proven to be safe, well tolerated and very effective for short and long term weight loss.