First Stomach Balloon for Weight Loss to Be Placed in the Hudson Valley on Tuesday, October 27, 2015

POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. & NEW YORK & GREENWICH, Conn. - Oct. 24, 2015 - PRLog -- In Poughkeepsie, New York, on Tuesday, October 27th, 2015, Dr. Anthony Starpoli of the American Obesity Center will place a stomach balloon in a patient who has struggled with a lifetime of weight issues where diet and exercise alone have been unsuccessful. The stomach balloon treament offers a completely nonsurgical approach to obesity management and is an alternative to invasive surgical banding and gastric bypass procedures.

The placement of the Orbera intragastric balloon will be the first such procedure to be performed in the Hudson Valley region and will take place at the Dutchess Ambulatory Surgery Center located in Poughkeepsie, New York. The balloon is placed through the mouth using a video endoscopic under sedation.  The balloon is subsequently inflated with approximately 600cc of saline fluid.  The entire procedure takes about 30 minutes and the patients go home the same day. Balloons remain in the stomach for 6 months and are then removed at that time. Research shows that patients will lose about 40% of their excess weight.  After 6 months, people lost an average 3.1 times the weight that patients lost with diet and exercise alone based on the U.S. studies.

A unique aspect of the program created by Dr. Starpoli is to employ smart mobile technology whereby regular visits with the nutritionist are conducted virtually through a telehealth portal accessible by any computing device.  Additionally, there is Fitbit activity integration and dietary logging to the platform that provide detailed information for tracking progress and giving guidance. The nutritional program continues for an additional 6 months after removal of the balloon.

The Orbera balloon (Apollo Endosurgery Inc.) was approved by the FDA on August 5th, 2015 and is intended for use in patients with a BMI (Body Mass Index) of 30 to 40.  There have been over 200,000 Orbera gastric balloons placed worldwide.  All prospective patients are evaluated by Dr. Starpoli prior to treatment.

As a leading New York Gastroenterologist, Dr. Anthony Starpoli manages the spectrum of gastrointestinal disorders and has a focus in the endoscopic management of obesity. He is a board-certified in Gastroenterologist and Internal Medicine and is affiliated with Lenox Hill-North Shore LIJ University Hospital, Beth Israel Medical Center, and NYU Langone Medical Center.  Dr. Starpoli has offices in Poughkeepsie, New York and in New York City.

More information is available at www.balloonfix.com or www.starpoli.com.

Office telephone:  212-673-2721 or 845-471-1354.