A new minimally invasive weight loss device has been introduced in the Kingdom.

The announcement was made at a conference held at the Four Seasons Hotel in Riyadh in the presence of Emad Alzaben, group general manager of the Al-Sultan Saudi Medical Company, Alfredo Genco of the Department of Surgical Science at the Surgical Endoscopy Unit for the treatment of obesity at the Policlinico Umberto Hospital in Italy, Camillio Ducino, regional manager of Obalon Co., and members of the press.

The "Obalon" capsule, as it is known, contains a balloon that is orally inserted and inflated to occupy the upper space of the stomach to create a feeling of fullness, which makes the patient eat less.

Additional balloons can be swallowed and inflated during the treatment period depending on patient response and patient need.

The balloons are removed through a short endoscopic procedure at the end of the treatment period. The entire procedure takes only 15 minutes, with no sedation required.

Studies have shown that patients who used the Obalon technology lost on average 7.4 percent of their total body weight and 41 percent of excess body weight within 12 weeks of inserting the balloon, which weighs approximately eight to 12 kilos, within three months.

“The importance of this unique technology in treating overweight patients, which uses the extraordinary technology of the Obalon Balloon (smart capsule), is that it offers a quick, discreet, non-surgical and fully reversible weigh loss solution,” Alzaben said. “The Al-Sultan Saudi Medical Company is considered one of the leading medical companies in the Middle East and is keen to offer its patients the latest in the field of medical innovation.”

Obalon technology is being introduced and implemented across various hospitals within Saudi Arabia with the practice of highly acknowledged medical practitioners.

Among these hospitals is the Dr. Suleiman Al-Habib Hospital in Riyadh and Qassim, which includes Dr. Azzam Alkadi, consultant laparoscopic surgeon, and Dr. Abdulah Al-Jahdali and Dr. Omar Al-Obaid, consultants in general surgery.

The Al-Mashfa Hospital in Jeddah also offers the procedure through Dr. Adnan Sabahi, a consultant at the Surgical Endoscopy Unit and Morbid Obesity, as well as Dr. Erfan and Bagedo General Hospital in Jeddah, where Dr. Iyad Al-Subie, head of Endoscopy Unit, and Dr. Omar Al-Subie, consultant internal medicine gastroenterology, also perform the procedure.

Finally, the Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal Hospital has under its wing Dr. Khalid Merza, division head of the surgical department, while procedures at the Armed Forces Hospital at King Abdulaziz Air Base are conducted by Dr. Abdulrazak Al-Adad, general surgery consultant at the Saad Specialist Hospital in the Eastern Province.




This is considered a breakthrough, revolutionary technology in the treatment of obesity and can play a huge role in reducing obesity rates, which are rapidly growing across the country and which are leading to serious diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure and cholesterol.