The ORBERA® Weight Loss System

Monday, August 31, 2015 – The first 4 Orbera balloons were inserted in the state of Missouri and Dr. Minkin placed 3 of them!

For years we as Bariatric surgeons have been unable to offer an effective tool for weight loss for a subset of obese patients that contact us. These patients have an obese BMI of 30 – 40 and have struggled with their weight problem for years and fear developing medical problems associated with their obesity that they have seen the grandparents, parents and siblings develop and suffer with. Because their BMI is below 35, or is between 35 and 40 and they haven’t developed say diabetes, hypertension, heart failure or sleep apnea yet, insurance companies and Bariatric program guidelines preclude them from obtaining approval for the traditional surgical weight loss procedures that we offer such as the Lap Band, Sleeve Gastrectomy and Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass procedures. Well now we have the Orbera intragastric balloon device for these patients.

Placement of the intragastric balloon is a non-surgical procedure and is done with an upper endoscope inserted through the mouth into the stomach. The procedure takes between 20-30 minutes and can be done under either general anesthesia or IV sedation on an outpatient basis. The balloon is inflated with sterile saline solution and remains in the stomach for 6 months working as a tool for the patient to control food intake and provide hunger control. After 6 months the balloon is then removed during another short, outpatient endoscopic procedure.

At St. Louis Bariatric Specialists each Orbera patient is entered into a structured 12 month program that includes preoperative teaching and assessment, close follow up with the surgeon and follow up with the nutritional specialist. Candidates for the procedure include those who:

• have a BMI of 30 – 40
• have been unable to achieve their weight loss goals with diet and exercise
• are willing to participate in a 12 month supervised diet and behavior modification program

For more information please contact Dr. Minkin at 314-965-8410 to schedule a face to face consultation with him.

Our Program Team

When investigating bariatric surgery programs, look for those programs that take a multidisciplinary, fully integrated approach to the care of their patients. All members of our “Program Team” have undergone specific training and education regarding the care of the bariatric patient. At Des Peres Hospital, several of the nurses caring for the bariatric patients have undergone surgery by Dr. Minkin themselves and understand their patient’s postoperative experience firsthand.