A gastric balloon is a device filled with fluid or water that is inserted into the stomach endoscopically (non-surgical, placed through the mouth) and remains there for a period of 6 months to 1 year, after which it must be removed.
Since it occupies volume in the stomach, it causes a feeling of satiety with less food intake.
Gastric balloon is not an alternative treatment method of obesity surgery.
It is a method that provides limited weight loss in moderately overweight people, or in overweight patients for whom bariatric surgery is planned but are too risky to undergo.
It is performed with an anaesthetic, which we call sedation. It does not require general anesthesia.