Balloon tamponade usually refers to the use of balloon

Balloon

A balloon is an inflatable flexible bag filled with a gas, such as helium, hydrogen, nitrous oxide, oxygen, or air. Modern balloons can be made from materials such as rubber, latex, polychloroprene, or a nylon fabric, while some early balloons were made of dried animal bladders, such as the pig...

s inserted into the esophagus

Esophagus

The esophagus is an organ in vertebrates which consists of a muscular tube through which food passes from the pharynx to the stomach. During swallowing, food passes from the mouth through the pharynx into the esophagus and travels via peristalsis to the stomach...

 or stomach

Stomach

The stomach is a muscular, hollow, dilated part of the alimentary canal which functions as an important organ of the digestive tract in some animals, including vertebrates, echinoderms, insects , and molluscs. It is involved in the second phase of digestion, following mastication .The stomach is...

, and inflated to stop refractory bleeding from vascular structures—including esophageal varices

Esophageal varices

In medicine , esophageal varices are extremely dilated sub-mucosal veins in the lower esophagus...

 and gastric varices

Gastric varices

Gastric varices are dilated submucosal veins in the stomach, which can be a life-threatening cause of upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage. They are most commonly found in patients with portal hypertension, or elevated pressure in the portal vein system, which may be a complication of cirrhosis...

 -- in the upper gastrointestinal tract.

There are many different types of balloons manufactured for the purpose of tamponading upper gastrointestinal bleeds, each with different volume capacities and aspiration ports tailored for the specific application.

Examples include:

• Sengstaken-Blakemore tube
  Sengstaken-Blakemore tube
  A Sengstaken-Blakemore tube is a medical device inserted through the nose or mouth and used occasionally in the management of upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage due to esophageal varices...
  
  , with three lumens (two balloons and a gastric aspiration port). Pressure can be applied to gastric and esophageal varices by balloon inflation and traction.
• Linton tube, with a large gastric balloon, and gastric and esophageal aspirates
• Minnesota four-lumen tube, with esophageal and gastric balloons, and esophageal and gastric aspirates.

Balloon tamponade is considered a bridge to more definitive treatment modalities, and is usually administered in the Emergency Department or in the intensive-care unit setting, due to the illness of patients and the complications of the procedure.