Weight loss ‘balloon pill' to be tested at area hospital

PITTSBURGH — Those looking for faster ways of losing weight may be in luck. West Penn Hospital has been selected as one of 14 medical centers to test out the Obalon balloon, an alternative to bariatric surgery.

The Obalon balloon’s function is simple; patients will swallow the balloon. It will inflate after making it inside the stomach. However, the process isn’t quite as simple: Patients will keep the balloons inside their stomachs for six months.

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"Bariatric surgery is still the most effective treatment for morbid obesity; however, for patients with lower body mass index, sometimes, we don't have solutions apart from a better diet and exercise," Dr. George M. Eid, a division chief at the Bariatric and Metabolic Institute at West Penn, told Channel 11's news exchange partners at TribLIVE.

Outside of the United States, the balloon has seen success in the marketplace. About 12,000 balloons have been sold in Europe, Mexico and in the Middle East.

Doctors are able to insert as many as three balloons at once, and each balloon is small enough to fit in the palm of a hand.

Participants must be between 22-64 years old and they must have a body mass index between 30 and 40. They must also live within an hour of the hospital and must be willing to be seen every three weeks throughout a calendar year.

WPXI