Patients often ask which balloon is “best”. The more useful question is two separate ones: how do you want it placed, and how long do you want it in?
First decision: how it is placed
Every gastric balloon works the same way once it is in your stomach — it takes up space so you feel full on less food. What differs is how it gets in, and how it comes out.
With gastroscopy, under light sedation
The balloon is passed through the mouth using a gastroscope while you are lightly sedated, then removed the same way when the period ends. Placement takes roughly 20–30 minutes.
There is a genuine clinical advantage here that is easy to overlook: the gastroscopy lets your surgeon examine your stomach at the same visit, checking for ulcers, inflammation or a hiatal hernia that would change the plan.
Without gastroscopy, without sedation — the Allurion balloon
You swallow a capsule containing the folded balloon, attached to a thin tube, in a visit of about 15 minutes. An X-ray confirms position, the balloon is filled with around 550ml of fluid, a second X-ray confirms the fill, and the tube is withdrawn. You are awake throughout.
At roughly 16 weeks a valve inside opens automatically, the balloon empties and passes naturally. There is no removal procedure at all. Most people do not notice when it happens.
Second decision: how long it stays in
For endoscopically placed balloons, the usual options are 6 months or 12 months.
- 6 months — a shorter, focused reset. Often chosen for a defined target or a first balloon.
- 12 months — a full year, giving more time to establish new eating habits before removal.
The Allurion balloon is the exception: its period is fixed at approximately 16 weeks by design.
So which suits you?
There is no universally correct answer. Sedation-free placement appeals to patients anxious about endoscopy. A longer period suits people who want more time to change habits. Your starting BMI, medical history and goals all feed into it — which is why this is decided together at consultation rather than from a website.