Clinical Snapshot
Acute Pancreatitis Following Insertion of a Gastric Balloon—an Unusual Cause
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A 30-year-old man presented as an emergency with newly occurring belt-like upper abdominal pain. Three years earlier, when his body mass index was 26.5 kg/m2, a gastric balloon had been inserted, upon which he had reduced his weight by 3 kg. Laboratory tests showed slightly elevated inflammation parameters (leucocytes 11.1 thousand/µL) and elevation of lipase (2064 IU/mL; reference: <69).
A 30-year-old man presented as an emergency with newly occurring belt-like upper abdominal pain. Three years earlier, when his body mass index was 26.5 kg/m2, a gastric balloon had been inserted, upon which he had reduced his weight by 3 kg. Laboratory tests showed slightly elevated inflammation parameters (leucocytes 11.1 thousand/µL) and elevation of lipase (2064 IU/mL; reference: <69).
A biliary cause for the pancreatitis was ruled out by sonography. T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging showed indentation of the pancreas with compression of the pancreatic duct by the gastric balloon (star) with resultant edematous pancreatitis of the tail of the organ (arrow). One day after gastroscopic balloon removal the patient was free of symptoms; his pancreatitis resolved without complications. Pancreatitis in the wake of bariatric interventions is typically caused by gallstones, the formation of which is favored by rapid weight loss. Mechanical pancreatitis from a gastric balloon is a rare complication, but has been described. In view of the potentially serious complications (ileus, severe pancreatitis) a gastric balloon should be inserted only when clearly indicated.
Jérôme Schwingel, Sebastian Hüttinger, M.Sc., Prof. Dr. med. Manfred Lutz
Gastroenterologie/Endokrinologie/Infektiologie/Stoffwechsel- und Ernährungskrankheiten, CaritasKlinikum Saarbrücken, J.Schwingel@caritasklinikum
Conflict of interest statement: The authors declare that no conflict of interest exists.
Translated from the original German by David Roseveare.
Cite this as: Schwingel J, Hüttinger S, Lutz M: Acute pancreatitis following insertion of a gastric balloon—an unusual cause. Dtsch Arztebl Int 2021; 118: 846a. DOI: 10.3238/arztebl.m2021.0086
