Gastric Balloon Weight Loss at Ormiston Hospital Auckland

We offer non surgical weight management with an Intragastric or Gastric Balloon Procedure. This is a safe and affordable way to boost weight loss efforts without surgery. Ormiston Hospital was the first in New Zealand to introduce this procedure in 2015. Read more about Ormiston Weight Loss Service.

The Gastric Ballon or Intragastric Ballon is an inflatable medical device that is temporarily placed into the stomach to reduce weight.

If you are considering a weight loss balloon, this page explains the clinical aspects to this procedure and weight loss device.

The Procedure

The patient comes in to Ormiston Hospital after a period of limited food and drink. The patient may have up to one support person with them, they are admitted and go through to the procedure room with their endoscopist.

First, a diagnostic endoscopy is completed to ensure that there it is safe to perform the procedure. Once the patient is mildly sedated and comfortable, the procedure can begin.

The deflated gastric balloon is inserted via the mouth through the esophagus and into the patient’s stomach. The balloon is very small when deflated and is easily placed. Once in the correct position, a syringe is used to fill the balloon with a safe sterile saline solution. After this time, it is approximately the size of a grapefruit (similar to when a patient has eaten a large meal). This entire process takes about 20 minutes. Patients then recover in post-op for up to two hours and head home to start their new life.

Ormiston Hospital offers balloons that stay in for around 12 months – to attain significant weight loss. We also offer the OrberaB2B balloon package which involves replacing the original balloon that is inserted after 6 months with a newer, larger balloon to stay for the remaining 6 months to further enhance weight loss. Across the 12 months our patients learn how to use their balloon to aid weight loss, which is why we support our patients with a dietitian.

These balloons can also be suitable for patients who have significant illnesses that makes them unsuitable for Sleeve Gastrectomy thereby acting as a bridge before they can undergo definitive surgery. Please note, that gastric balloons do not guarantee weight loss and some people do not tolerate the balloon.

Removal

After a 12 month period the balloon will be booked in to be removed. Some patients ask for it to be removed earlier, which can be done. This is a very simple non-surgical procedure similar to the insertion. It involves coming in to Ormiston Hospital and removal via endoscopy in around 15 minutes.

Ormiston Hospital offers three types of Gastric Ballons, the Orbera B2B, Orbera 365 and the Spatz3 – you can read more about them here.