FDA Approves Non-Surgical Obesity Device from ReShape Medical

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved a new balloon device to treat obesity without the need for invasive surgery.

The ReShape Dual Balloon is manufactured by ReShape Medical Inc., in San Clemente, Calif.

The system is intended to facilitate weight loss in obese adult patients. The device likely works by occupying space in the stomach, which may trigger feelings of fullness, or by other mechanisms that are not yet understood.

The device is delivered into the stomach via the mouth through a minimally invasive endoscopic procedure. The outpatient procedure usually takes less than 30 minutes while a patient is under mild sedation. Once in place, the balloon device is inflated with a sterile solution, which takes up room in the stomach.

The device does not change or alter the stomach’s natural anatomy. Patients are advised to follow a medically supervised diet and exercise plan to augment their weight loss efforts while using the ReShape Dual Balloon and to maintain their weight loss following its removal. It is meant to be temporary and should be removed six months after it is inserted.

“For those with obesity, significant weight loss and maintenance of that weight loss often requires a combination of solutions including efforts to improve diet and exercise habits,” said William Maisel, M.D., M.P.H., acting director of the Office of Device Evaluation at the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health. “This new balloon device provides doctors and patients with a new non-surgical option that can be quickly implanted, is non-permanent, and can be easily removed.”

The ReShape Dual Balloon is indicated for weight reduction in obese adult patients with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 to 40 kg/m². The device is limited to patients with one or more obesity-related conditions such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes. It is intended for patients who have failed previous attempts at weight loss through diet and exercise alone.

“Many Americans have struggled with a lack of effective weight loss options when their BMI is in the 30–40 range,” said John Morton, M.D., M.P.H., president of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery. “Options like ReShape address a significant gap that exists between diet and exercise, weight loss medications and surgery, offering a minimally invasive, reversible option which we hope will promote long-term healthy habits.”

There are currently three other FDA-approved devices to treat morbid obesity: the Allergan LAP-Band, the Realize Adjustable Gastric Band made by Johnson & Johnson’s Ethicon Endo-Surgery division, and the Maestro Rechargeable System.

The ReShape Dual Balloon was studied in a clinical trial with 326 obese participants aged 22 to 60 (with a BMI of 30 kg/m² to 40 kg/m²) who had at least one obesity-related health condition. In the study, 187 individuals randomly selected to receive the ReShape Dual Balloon lost 14.3 pounds on average (6.8 percent of their total body weight) when the device was removed at six months, while the control group (who underwent an endoscopic procedure but were not given the device) lost an average of 7.2 pounds (3.3 percent of their total body weight).

Six months following the device removal, patients treated with the ReShape Dual Balloon device kept off an average of 9.9 pounds of the 14.3 pounds they lost. In a study conducted in Europe, according to the company, ReShape patients, on average, lost 47 percent of their excess weight and maintained 98 percent of their weight loss at one year.

Potential side effects for the procedure include headache, muscle pain, and nausea from the sedation and procedure; in rare cases, severe allergic reaction, heart attack, esophageal tear, infection, and breathing difficulties can occur. Once the device is placed in the stomach, patients may experience vomiting, nausea, abdominal pain, gastric ulcers, and feelings of indigestion.  

This device should not be used in patients who have had previous gastrointestinal or bariatric surgery or who have been diagnosed with inflammatory intestinal or bowel disease, large hiatal hernia, symptoms of delayed gastric emptying or active H. Pylori infection; those who are pregnant or use aspirin daily should also avoid the device.