Safety and Efficacy of a New Swallowable Intragastric Balloon Not Needing Endoscopy: Early Italian Experience

The aim of this study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of a new intragastric balloon (Elipse™ Balloon, Allurion Technologies, Natick, MA USA) not needing endoscopy.

The balloon was swallowed under fluoroscopy in 38 consecutive patients (F/M 28/10, mean age 46.4 ± 10.6 years, mean weight 109.7 ± 21.9 kg, and mean body mass index (BMI) 38.6 ± 6.7 kg/m²). After 4 months, the balloon spontaneously emptied and it was excreted through the digestive tract without upper endoscopy.

There were no complications during balloon passage. After 16 weeks, the mean weight loss was 12.7 kg, mean percent excess weight loss was 26%, and mean BMI reduction was 4.2 kg/m². Total body weight loss was 11.6%. There was a significant reduction in major co-morbidities related to metabolic syndrome: blood pressure (p < 0.02), waist circumference (p < 0.002), triglycerides (p < 0.0001), blood glucose (p < 0.001), and HOMA-IR index (p < 0.001). At the end of the treatment, 37 balloons were naturally excreted in the stool, and one balloon was endoscopically removed.

The results of this study on 38 consecutive patients demonstrate that the Elipse™ Balloon is safe, effective, and very well accepted by patients.