Changes in quality of life after balloon treatment followed by gastric banding in severely obese patients--the use of two different quality of life questionnaires.

Background: Improvements in quality of life (QOL) obtained by weight loss have mainly been reported after bariatric surgery. QOL has not been investigated in surgical patients first losing weight by nonsurgical means followed by a surgical intervention and never simultaneously by two QOL-a generic and a disease-specific-questionnaires.

Methods: Prospective data were obtained from 40 consecutive patients (mean age 36.

Six months of balloon treatment does not predict the success of gastric banding.

Background: We studied whether weight loss by intragastric balloon would predict the outcome of subsequent gastric banding with regard to weight loss and BMI reduction.

Methods: A prospective cohort of patients with a body mass index (BMI)>40 kg/m(2) received an intragastric balloon for 6 months followed by laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB). Successful balloon-induced weight loss was defined as > or =10% weight loss after 6 months.