title: Gastric balloons: a plea for sanity in the midst of balloonacy.
abstract: Intragastric balloons have been suggested as a treatment for severe obesity, a degree of obesity associated with a relatively greater eating disorder or lack of control of energy balance. The premises that 250-500-ml balloons are able to simulate "satiety" in a 1700-ml stomach sufficiently to cause weight loss, that the stomach will not stretch to accommodate such a besoar (with or without ulcerating), and that behavioral modification is cost-effective in weight control in this population have not been corroborated. Experience from gastric restrictive surgery has demonstrated the conceptual failure of gastric satiety as a means of achieving and sustaining weight loss in a substantial percentage of morbidly obese patients. Other methods are needed to reduce the increased morbidity and mortality of severe obesity.
authors: Division of Surgical Metabolism, St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center, College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University, New York, New York.
authors: J G
authors: JG
authors: Kral
mesh_terms: D001835:Body Weight; D002404:Catheterization / Q000009:adverse effects; D006801:Humans; D009765:Obesity / Q000628:therapy*; D012527:Satiation; D013270:Stomach