Analysis of Long-Term Weight Regain in Obese Patients Treated with Intragastric Balloon

Abstract

Obesity is a recurrent, epidemic and growing health problem, and its management remains a challenge. Obesity can traditionally be treated through different combination of programs involving diet control, exercises, behavioral and psychological counseling, in addition to appetite-control drugs. However, therapeutic failure of these measures are high, and even initially successful cases still show that weight maintenance over a long-term period frequentlyRecently, the intragastric balloon (IGB) has become a popular alternative to manage obese patients, because it is a relatively safe and minimally invasive endoscopic method that has been recognized by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) [4] and FDA as an option to manage obese individuals potentially reducing mortality [5]. In Brazil, the IGB is indicated for patients with BMI equal or greater than 27 kg/m.Many studies [1,[4][5][6][7][8] show successful weight loss after the use of IGB for approximately 6 months. However, no studies have reported long-term follow-up concerning weight regain among these patients after removal of the IGB. This study aimed to assess the long-term weight regain in a large cohort of patients treated with 14. Catalano MF., et al. "Weight gain after bariatric surgery as a result of a large gastric stoma: endotherapy with sodium morrhuate may prevent the need for surgical revision". Gastrointes-