Is a Gastric Balloon Safe If You Have Diabetes?
A 2026 study published in the journal Obesity Surgery looked at whether a gastric balloon, a non-surgical device placed inside the stomach to support weight loss, carried a different short-term safety profile for people living with diabetes compared to those without it. After carefully accounting for differences between the groups, the researchers found that serious complications were rare and the rates of healthcare use were broadly similar between people with and without diabetes.
Who Was Studied and How the Research Was Done
The study drew on a large United States database of accredited bariatric and metabolic surgery centres and included 4,555 patients who had an intragastric balloon placed between 2015 and 2023. To make a fair comparison, the researchers used a statistical method called propensity score matching, which pairs people with similar backgrounds and health characteristics so that one factor, in this case diabetes, can be looked at more closely. This produced a matched group of 424 patients, half with diabetes and half without. A smaller sub-analysis compared 106 patients whose diabetes was managed without insulin against those who required insulin.
What the Researchers Found
Across both main groups, serious adverse events, meaning significant unexpected complications, were rare overall. Within the 30 days after balloon placement, rates of emergency department visits, hospital readmissions, unplanned procedures and other measures of healthcare use were comparable between people with diabetes and those without, even when looking separately at people who used insulin. The researchers noted that patients with diabetes, and particularly those using insulin, tended to be older and carry a greater number of other health conditions coming into the procedure, yet their short-term outcomes after the balloon was placed were broadly in line with the non-diabetes group.
What This Study Does and Does Not Tell Us
This research offers useful evidence that the gastric balloon appears well tolerated in people with diabetes over a short window of time, and the authors suggest it may be considered both as a primary weight loss option and as a preparation step before more extensive weight loss surgery in this population. However, because the study only measured outcomes over 30 days, nothing is known from this data about how people fared beyond that point. It was also a retrospective study, meaning the researchers looked back at existing records rather than setting up a controlled trial, and the data came from one country, so results may not apply everywhere. Outcomes also vary from person to person.
About this research: Short Term Safety and Healthcare Utilization Following Intragastric Balloon Placement in Patients With and Without Diabetes Mellitus: A Propensity Matched Analysis, Obesity Surgery, 2026. Read the study summary
More detail about this procedure is on our intragastric balloon page. If you are considering your options, call us on (03) 9760 2777 or request an appointment through our website.