The principle of weight loss procedures implied today always involves reducing stomach capacity. This way, less food can be consumed per meal, reducing the available energy intake and resulting in weight loss.
Gastric BalloonVarious balloon systems on the market are used to fill the stomach volume in order to reduce food intake. These have shown good effectiveness with weight loss of up to 25-30 kg within 12 months. Severe complications are rare but can be significant. Possible complications range from relatively mild nausea symptoms to severe upper abdominal pain, recurrent vomiting, development of gastric mucosal inflammation, and even intestinal obstruction or gastric necrosis requiring emergency surgery. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has reported 18 deaths associated with gastric balloons since 2015. The costs for this procedure range between €3,500 and €8,000.
Endoscopic Gastric Reduction (POSE / POSE 2)There are endoscopic-surgical approaches that lead to a reduction in stomach size (POSE/POSE2). Using a special surgical endoscope, the stomach wall is sutured at many points, resulting in a physically smaller stomach. These procedures are invasive, can only be performed under general anesthesia, are not reversible, and cannot be done after other treatments like gastric banding or other surgeries. These procedures have not been evaluated in larger studies, but stomach volume reduction usually leads to significant weight loss in most cases. Complications have not been extensively studied in the literature, but surgical procedures generally have higher complication rates than less invasive methods. The costs for these procedures range between €12,000 and €20,000.
Surgical Gastric Reduction / Bypass ProceduresThe principle behind all surgeries is a reduction in food intake, either by reducing the size of the stomach alone or in combination with bypassing large parts of the small intestine to reduce nutrient absorption. These procedures range from the most common Sleeve Gastrectomy and gastric bypass surgery to biliopancreatic diversion with or without duodenal switch. All procedures represent a massive intervention in the body's integrity and carry risks of complications, including the patient's death. The mortality rate for bariatric surgery is reported in the literature to be between 0.1% and 0.25%. The morbidity, meaning the risk of complicated outcomes, is approximately 7-10%.
For this reason, these surgeries are exclusively reserved for severely obese patients in Germany. It is crucial to carefully weigh the risks and benefits of these interventions individually to avoid endangering patients. I categorically discourage Self-organized trips abroad for surgeries. While these surgeries are performed by trained surgeons, proper pre-operative and post-operative care, as well as qualified treatment of potential complications, cannot be guaranteed.
New Medications as Game Changers?Wegovy and Ozempic are currently experiencing significant hype in the media. With influential figures like Elon Musk or Kim Kardashian tweeting about using Wegovy for weight loss, there is enormous interest in these new medications that have now received approval for weight reduction. You can find all relevant information in our blog “
Knowledge”.
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