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Case report
Dysphagia due to spontaneous hyperinflation of a swallowable intragastric balloon
  1. Elizabeth Ann Gaunt and
  2. Roland Fernandes
  1. General Surgery, Ekhuft, Ashford, UK
  1. Correspondence to Dr Elizabeth Ann Gaunt; elizabeth.gaunt{at}nhs.net

Abstract

A 49-year-old woman presented as an acute admission with persistent vomiting and an inability to tolerate both solids and liquids. Five weeks prior to the admission she had an Elipse swallowable intragastric balloon placed into her stomach as an aid to weight loss. This type of balloon stays inflated inside the stomach for 16 weeks before disintegrating and passing through the gastrointestinal tract. Observations and blood parameters were unremarkable but abdominal radiograph indicated that the balloon had undergone spontaneous hyperinflation—a rare complication. At gastroscopy, the balloon was found to fill the entire stomach volume causing dysphagia. The balloon was punctured endoscopically, contents suctioned and remnants retrieved through the gastroscope. The patient commenced oral intake the following day and was discharged home with no further symptoms at 12-week follow-up.

  • stomach and duodenum
  • gastrointestinal surgery
  • endoscopy
  • obesity (public health)
  • general surgery

https://doi.org/10.1136/bcr-2020-240669

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    Footnotes

    • Contributors RF identified and managed the case and revised the case report. He is the guarantor. EAG drafted and revised the case report.

    • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.