Click there for more customer testimonials

Gastric Balloon Surgery

Fully Inclusive Package - Price £3,400

Euro Price (for Republic of Ireland) €3,990

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT - PLEASE NOTE:

Our prices for the balloon are fully inclusive of all the costs (flights, accommodation, transport, all your medicines and materials and the procedure) for both inserting and removing the Heliosphere Stomach Balloon and also include a full 2 year support service to enable you to make the most of your weight loss whilst the balloon is in place and after it is removed.

Gastric Balloon You should carefully read all about the Balloon and how it works to help your weight loss in the information below, and also read through all the technical information on the technical details page here.

The reasons why you should consider having your procedure with us are the same for the Balloon as for Weight Loss Surgery – we don’t just arrange the procedure for you and “leave you on your own”, instead we make all the arrangements for you and are there with you during the procedure. We support you after the procedure, whilst your balloon is in place and – most important – we are also committed to giving you support, advice and nutritional/exercise guidance for 2 years after the balloon is removed. We don’t want you to go through the procedure and lose the weight only to regain it all after your balloon is removed!!

What’s included?

FREE DIRECT RETURN FLIGHTS LONDON STANSTEAD – BRNO BY RYANAIR – for the insertion AND removal of your Heliosphere Balloon
ALL TRANSFERS AIRPORT- HOTEL – HOSPITAL, for both insertion and removal of balloon
ONE NIGHT’S STAY IN A LUXURY HOTEL ON YOUR ARRIVAL (for the balloon insertion and its removal)
OUR PERSONAL ATTENTION - We will be there in Brno with you at the hotel and we accompany you in the hospital throughout your pre-procedure tests and the procedure itself. We will be in the Hospital with you after your procedure until it is time for you to go home, too – making sure everything goes well for you
All pre-operative tests and investigations (see technical information)
Pre-operative consultations with Dr Cierny and his team. Dr Michal Cierny is a renowned and very experienced bariatric surgeon, who is in charge of all Bariatric (weight loss) procedures in the Hospital. Your balloon will be put in place (and removed after 6 months) by a fully qualified expert endoscopic surgeon, well familiar with this technique. Endoscopic procedures like the balloon are usually performed by Dr. Martin Kriz (the Hospital's Chief Surgeon) or Dr. Otto Riebel. The standard of medical care and support you will receive from Dr Cierny, his team of experts and from us is on a par with the VERY BEST – ANYWHERE IN EUROPE AND THE U.S.
Heliosphere Double skinned, pure gold lined air filled stomach (intragastric) balloon
Surgery Cost Protection – which will automatically pay up to 150,000 Czech Koruna (approx £5,000) to cover you for any re-operations, extended stay in ICU, and the hospital should you need it. This is really important. (see details)
All the medicines and dressings you need whilst at the hospital and during your stay.
All post-operative check-ups and examinations during your stay
One nights’ stay at the hospital in your semi private room after the balloon is inserted
All the costs involved in removal of the balloon at Breclav hospital
Full Cosmetic Bliss after care support when you return home, dietary and nutrition advice and weight monitoring for at least two years after your procedure

What extra costs are there?

NONE - WE ARRANGE AND PAY FOR EVERYTHING FOR YOU!

Is the Balloon the right procedure for me?

The Stomach balloon – either the BIB Intragastric Balloon (which we used to offer to our patients) or the Heliosphere system that we now advocate is designed to stay in the stomach for a maximum period of 6 months. Because it takes up a large proportion of the stomach space, it allows the patient to eat much less and feel full. Weight loss from the balloon during the period of its placement varies from person to person, but the average loss is between 10kg and 25Kg (1.5 stone & 4 stone)

Who is it designed for?

A stomach balloon might be the right answer for your problems with obesity if:

Unable to qualify for Gastric Banding, Sleeve Gastrectomy or Bypass because your BMI is not high enough to allow surgery, but still you cannot lose enough weight through conventional methods
BMI of between 29 and 40
Your BMI is over 40 (or over 35 with co-morbidities) – in other words you are big enough for surgery but you are unable to consider an operation under general anaesthetic because of certain health problems
You are very obese (BMI 50-55+) and the surgeon has recommended you have the balloon as a short-term measure to enable you to lose sufficient weight to enable you to safely have surgery later

Some patients will not be able to have a balloon fitted, for example, it should not be used in patients with a history of gastro-oesophageal reflux disease, stomach ulcers, H-Pylori infections or bleeding disorders, patients with Hiatal Hernias or intestinal obstructions. It is not recommended in pregnancy or during breast feeding, nor can it be fitted in patients who are diagnosed with or are being treated for serious eating disorders such as Bulimia/Binge Eating Disorder, drug or alcohol addiction.

How does it work and how is it inserted & removed?

The balloon is inserted and removed via the mouth and throat, into the stomach using an endoscope, and is inflated (and deflated when removed) whilst inside the stomach. The whole process usually takes less than 30 minutes. You can watch a You Tube video of the Heliosphere balloon insertion procedure.

http://www.youtube.com/v/6gZsfS2SVBk

Before the procedure you have some general health checks and blood tests to make sure you will be safe. You will be then given sedation, so you will feel very drowsy. Most patients are only vaguely aware the balloon insertion is taking place. You will also be given an anaesthetic spray in your throat to avoid soreness. After the balloon is inserted it will be inflated with air. You will be taken to your room to sleep and recover from the sedation, and you will stay in the hospital until the following afternoon, when you can fly home.

Gastric Balloon The size of the inflated balloon is approx 500-600cc, so it takes up a lot of space inside your stomach. It works because you will no longer be able to take in large volumes of food and the balloon also triggers the vagal nerves to send feelings of fullness from the stomach to the brain; you will feel full much sooner so your food volume and calorie intake will be drastically reduced – though you will have to eat sensibly and limit the quantities of high calorie foods you consume. We’ll help and advise you in this. Our aftercare and support for Balloon patients is absolutely vital to make sure you get the best from the weight loss whilst the balloon is in place, and to make sure you do not regain weight after the balloon is removed. We will help you to use the 6 months of the balloon’s placement as a golden opportunity to make changes in your eating habits and lifestyle which will ensure you keep the weight off after it is removed. This is the whole point of having a balloon procedure; to give you that kick-start in losing weight, feeling healthier and looking better which you haven’t been able to achieve or maintain through all the failed diets in the past. As with Weight Loss Surgery, the patients who make the most of the tool they are given are those who are genuinely desperate to change and are 100% committed to using it as fully as possible - to help them make major changes in their relationship with food – for good!

Why an Air-filled Heliosphere Balloon and not the BIB Intragastric Balloon?

When the balloon is inserted, you are likely to experience some nausea, vomiting, a bloated feeling, and cramping until your body adjusts. These conditions are normal and should be expected initially. These symptoms vary in their intensity and usually disappear within a very few days. Anti-emetics, PPI drugs to calm your stomach and painkillers will be given you at the hospital and to take home with you. We keep you in hospital overnight to help you get through it all, and we will give you very specific instructions on drinking plenty of liquids, etc to enable you to quickly get used to having the balloon inside. We used to use the BIB saline-filled balloons, (which are less expensive) but found that because of the weight of these when inflated and filled (over 1 lb) the pressure on the vagal nerve and the fact that you had a large heavy foreign object in your stomach caused the vomiting and other symptoms to last quite a long time – sometimes well over a week.

Dr Cierny, after much research, now favours the Heliosphere air-filled balloon. The Heliosphere air filled intragastric balloon is very light, weighing less than 30g. It is totally innovative in its design: three years of research were necessary to perfect it. The side effects of balloons described in the scientific literature (nausea, vomiting etc.) have been reduced by 80%! This will help you tolerate it much better than a saline-filled balloon. The Air Filled Gastric Balloon is also double-skinned soft silicone and coated with pure gold on the inner skin. This guarantees less risk of deflation within the implantation period. The gold atoms are packed very tightly together preventing air molecules from escaping between them.

Some discomfort is inevitable in the first few days, but we have found through experience that by strictly following our pre and post procedure diet advice you can keep this to an absolute minimum and you can quickly start to get on with your new balloon and your weight loss.

Is the Balloon Safe – can it deflate when inside my stomach?

Gastric Balloon The Heliosphere balloon is very safe, and it is extremely unlikely that any deflation can occur during the 6 months it is in your stomach. This is because the inner skin of the balloon is coated with pure gold. The pure gold prevents deflation from occurring. The only way it could deflate is if it were physically cut with a very sharp tool. Normal activities, sports etc. will not damage it. To give you an idea of how strong it is, when it is removed, the device is punctured several times. This does not cause the air to leak out: the air has to be forcibly extracted using an aspirator for a minimum of 5 minutes!

If I am interested in this procedure what should I do next?

What we will then do?

When we receive your medical questionnaire (please complete it as carefully and as fully as possible) we will check through it and contact you if there are any questions we have for you
We will then send it to Dr Cierny for consultation, so he and his team can approve you for surgery.
We will then call you with his decision (the process usually takes no longer than 2-3 days at most) and to go through everything with you to make sure you fully understand what is involved in preparing for your procedure, what will happen when you come for your Balloon insertion, and what we do and how we support you through the process and afterwards.
We will then confirm everything we have discussed with you in writing.
You have not committed yourself to any decision at this stage. When you contact us on receiving the written details you can decide if this is right for you, and we can go ahead on your instructions.