Bad news from the Ministry of Health for those wanting to lose weight! It is now banned

The Ministry of Health has made a new decision regarding the gastric balloon procedure, which is preferred by those with weight problems who want to lose weight and for which demand has increased exponentially in recent years.

The Ministry has decided to ban 'swallowable gastric balloons'.

Speaking to Özge Eğrikar from Hürriyet, Turkish Obesity Surgery Foundation President Prof. Dr. Oktay Banlı said, "Because the procedure is easy, it was observed that it was also being performed by specialists outside of general surgery and gastroenterology and in inappropriate conditions, so it was banned in Europe. Turkey has also complied with the ban."

Prof. Dr. Banlı listed his warnings as follows:

"In this procedure, the balloon is swallowed like a capsule and inflates inside the stomach. There is no need to remove it after 5-6 months, and it dissolves on its own. It was advertised heavily. Naturally, there was high demand because it is an easy procedure. However, one point was overlooked in this application. When performing the procedure, the capsule is swallowed without seeing whether there is reflux, gastritis, ulcers, or tumors inside the organ. This can lead to the development of stomach or intestinal problems."

Sharing the data that this procedure was performed on 6 thousand 500 people in Turkey and 25 thousand people in Europe in 2024, Prof. Dr. Banlı said, "The EU Commission will make its final decision regarding swallowable gastric balloons on February 9."