Why does Orbera work for some and not others?

Question

Why does thenOrbera work for some and not others. I've spoken with people that have gotten the procedure and the entire month or two of having it all they do is have nausea and vomiting , so at that point they get tired and have it removed and they state they haven't lost a pound how is that possible. However, ever doctor I've heard speak on it claim the weight loss is mostly in the 1st and second month. Is this a fad?

Reza Keshavarzi, MD, FACS, FASMBS · Answer

I truly believe that the reason we have not had to remove any balloons in our practice is the level of support we offer our patients. I, as the surgeon, check in on our patients personally and even give my patients my cell phone number so that they can call or text anytime they have a question. We also have a bariatric psychologist that works personally with each of our patients and we bring our patients in often for follow-ups. We even had one patient who was having a difficult time speak to another patient whom initially had a difficult time (with permission, of course), and that eased her mind so much that shortly after she stopped having the problems. Some people do better than others and that’s just the nature of us as individuals and how we respond to things happening to our body. We have had one person go right back to work that afternoon and others whom have been sick for a few weeks to even one who had no issues and then started to have more issues as time progressed. There’s lots of variations but support has been our biggest component.

Christopher E. McGowan, MD · Answer

Thank you for the question. As with any treatment, there will be differences in how people respond and how effective it will be. We know from randomized, controlled studies that patients lose an average of 10-13% of their total body weight with Orbera, and 3 times as much as diet and exercise alone. These studies are rigorous and "prove" that the device works. However, the stated weight loss is an average, meaning that some people will lose more, and some people will lose less. Certainly if someone does not tolerate the balloon and needs it removed early (which can occur in up to 7% of patients), then they will not lose weight. In general, we find that the more motivated you are, the more you will lose. This means fully committing to diet change and exercise during the treatment period. Orbera is a tool that can produce significant results, but is only one component of a long-term weight loss program. Hope that helps!

Ehab Akkary, MD, FACS, FASMBS · Answer

Orbera, same like any other weight loss procedure, might not work for some patients. In my experience, when people did not lose weight with Orbera it was attributed to their non compliance with the diet program

Why does Orbera work for some and not others?

Answers (3)