Gastric Ulceration and Bleeding with Hemodynamic Instability Caused by an Intragastric Balloon for Weight Loss.
- Author:
Larrite REED
1
;
Hawa EDRISS
;
Kenneth NUGENT
Author Information
- Publication Type:Case Report
- Keywords: Gastric balloon; Stomach ulcer; Gastrointestinal hemorrhage; Obesity
- MeSH: Abdominal Pain; Caloric Restriction; Endoscopy, Digestive System; Gastric Balloon; Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage; Hemodynamics*; Hemorrhage*; Humans; Hypotension; Melena; Mucous Membrane; Obesity; Stomach; Stomach Ulcer*; Syncope; United States; Weight Loss*
- From:Clinical Endoscopy 2018;51(6):584-586
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
- Abstract: Obesity in the United States is a medical crisis with many people attempting to lose weight with caloric restriction. Some patients choose minimally invasive weight loss solutions, such as intragastric balloon systems. These balloon systems were approved by the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) in 2015–2016 and have been considered safe, with minimal side effects. We report a patient with a two-day history of melena, abdominal pain, hypotension, and syncope which developed five months after placement of an intragastric balloon. Esophagogastroduodenoscopy with balloon removal revealed a small 8-mm gastric ulcer in the incisura. This gastric ulcer probably developed secondary to mechanical compression of the stomach mucosa by the gastric balloon which contained 900 mL of saline. The FDA is now investigating five deaths since 2016 associated with these second-generation balloons. Clinicians should be aware of these complications when evaluating patients with gastrointestinal complications, such as bleeding.
