Dumbbell-shaped revival of ‘gastric bubble’ a dumb and dangerous idea
A dangerous weight-loss gimmick may be heading straight to your doctor’s office right now.
It’s a balloon that’s fed down your throat and inflated in your stomach — all to help you eat less. The FDA is even calling it a “new, non-surgical option” for those of us looking to drop some stubborn pounds.
Only it’s not new. And it’s far from safe.
Because the ReShape Dual Balloon — just approved by the FDA — is a repeat of a dangerous experiment that ended in tragedy 30 years ago.
An experiment could leave you with painful, permanent ulcers — if it doesn’t kill you first.
Down the hatchThe ReShape Dual Balloon looks like an inflated dumbbell. It’s two connected balloons that are filled with a solution and meant to sit in your stomach for months.
The device maker, ReShape Medical out of California, claims that if these balloons in our bellies make us feel a little fuller, we might not eat as much.
And if you’ve already figured out that two balloons constantly rubbing against your stomach lining can’t possibly be healthy, congratulations. You’re a lot smarter than the reviewers at the FDA.
The ReShape has already been linked to painful gastric ulcers, and can cause nausea, indigestion, and even frequent vomiting.
But those side effects may be the least of your worries. Because 30 years ago we learned that these inflatable stomach balloons have a serious design flaw that could kill you.
And we still don’t know if it’s been fixed.
You see, in the 1980s a company called American Edwards Laboratories realized that people with a serious psychological disorder — one that makes them eat hair — had smaller appetites. And that’s because they get hair balls that take up space in their stomachs.
So instead of implanting hair balls into our stomachs, American Edwards thought it could make a fortune getting us to swallow inflatable balloons instead.
The Garren-Edwards Gastric Bubble was born and approved in 1985 — and it was a disaster almost right away.
A little over a year after the product hit the market — and after it had been implanted in 17,000 people — American Edwards began firing off letters asking doctors to stop using it.
Apparently the device didn’t always stay inflated. The bubble could collapse and cause life-threatening intestinal blockages that require emergency surgery. American Edwards admitted that complication could prove fatal, and at least one death was reported the first year the device was sold.
The Garren-Edwards Gastric Bubble was eventually taken off the market completely.
So what’s changed since? Well, ReShape claims it solved a major design flaw by implanting two balloons into your stomach instead of one.
If one of the balloons ruptures, the other is supposed to keep it afloat so it doesn’t sink into your intestines and maybe kill you.
Well, they said the Titanic wouldn’t sink, either. And it’s clear that if both of these balloons pop, you could be in for a double disaster.
And that doesn’t sound like the kind of risk I’d be willing to take to lose a measly three extra pounds.
That’s the terrible truth you’re never going to hear about in the ReShape commercials. According to the ReShape trials, people who had the device implanted — and suffered through all the side effects — only ended up losing three more pounds than patients who underwent a fake procedure.
Only the FDA would ask us to believe that a three-pound advantage is a slam-dunk solution to obesity.
Look, I know what a challenge it can be to shed pounds, and I’ve even shared my own personal weight loss story with you in the past.
But it’s clear that this latest crackpot scheme isn’t going to change any lives.
And it just might end some instead.
Sources:
“Health regulators approve stomach balloon weight loss aid” CBS, July 28, 2015, cbsnews.com
“FDA approves ReShape Dual Balloon device to treat obesity” Robert Lowes, July 28, 2015, Medscape, Medscape.com
“Problems arise in gastric bubble used for obesity” Robert Steinbrook, November 2, 1986, Los Angeles Times, latimes.com
