Did Falete have a gastric balloon? Yes — he told it himself

Months later, in a report broadcast on RTVE, he filled in the rest of the picture. No sport at all: he said the only exercise he had ever considered was climbing the stairs of his own house. He also explained why the balloon alone is not magic — years earlier he had a liposuction that took away almost ten kilos, and the weight came back almost automatically once he returned to his old eating habits. The hunger, he admitted, does not disappear: “hay días que me comería hasta las paredes” — some days he could eat the walls.

That is everything this article rests on: his own account, quoted by the two outlets. It does not name the clinic where the balloon was placed, so nothing is assumed here about his treatment. Everything below is a general description of how gastric balloons and bariatric surgery work.

That order matters — a balloon is placed only after an assessment, and it works as an ally to a new way of eating, never as a substitute for one.

His memory of the failed liposuction is just as valuable. It is a reminder that removing fat locally does not change how the body stores it, while a stomach-oriented method plus changed habits is what held his result.

Which option fits depends on the patient's history and health — a decision made at a consultation, not from a celebrity story.

• Before anything is booked: blood and urine tests, biochemistry, coagulation panel, and reviews by a GP, endocrinologist, psychiatrist and cardiologist.
• In the weeks before: cut fast carbohydrates and fats, and stop smoking — the weeks of preparation matter as much as the operation itself.
• Plan the follow-up: the first year of check-ups is part of the treatment, not an optional extra.

After about six months the balloon comes out, on schedule — Falete's case is a good reminder that the removal date is part of the plan, not an afterthought.

For sleeve and bypass, the operation is laparoscopic, through four small punctures, with one to five days at the clinic. Patients are up and moving the next day; office work usually resumes in two to four weeks. Food returns in stages — liquids, then soft, then solid — and vitamins are part of life afterwards. The final result is assessed over one and a half to two years.

More details are on the bariatric surgery page and the page for patients from Madrid.

To be clear: City Medical Centre has no connection with Falete or his treatment. His story is quoted here only because he chose to talk about his balloon openly.