This is a bibliographic record of a published health technology assessment from a member of INAHTA. No evaluation of the quality of this assessment has been made for the HTA database.

The intragastric balloon is a proposed technology for enabling obese and superobese patients to lose weight. The balloon is biocompatible and is endoscopically placed in and removed from the stomach, where it remains for approximately six months causing a feeling of fullness, which, in theory, leads to lower food intake. The aim of this review is to assess the efficacy and safety of the BioEnterics Intragastric Balloon (BIB) for achieving weight loss in obese or overweight patients.

The intragastric balloon could bring about weight reduction among obese and overweight patients, though the methodology of the studies undertaken is extremely weak. Moreover, nothing is known about the magnitude of this reduction compared to other alternatives or whether it is maintained across time. The procedure must be monitored due to the possible risk of intestinal obstruction among a small percentage of patients.