Egypt’s Eman has lost 242kg in two months, says doctor

36yearold now weighs 262kg; sudden drop in weight has surprised doctors

Eman Ahmed, the Egyptian woman who came to in India in February weighing 504kg , has lost 242 kg — or 50% — of her weight, said Dr Muffazal Lakdawala, the doctor heading the team of surgeons treating her at Saifee Hospital.

A little over a month after she was put on a special diet, which was followed by a surgery on March 7, the 36-year-old now weighs 262kg — an improvement that has also helped her organs function better.

Dr Lakdawala said the extent of the post-surgical recovery was beyond his expectations. “The surgery (Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy) and a special diet has helped her lose 242kg since she landed in India.”

The sudden weight loss is surprising for her doctors because they were expecting a slow drop.

Lastmonth,drlakdawalahad said after the surgery,“the initial improvement will be because of rapid water loss... we think she will lose another 20-30 kg a month over the next few months.”

But Eman’s rapid improvement has left her doctors pleased.

The weight loss, said doctors, had also dramatically improved her health — Eman’s heart, kidneys and lungs are functioning better and her water retention levels were under control, they said. “There is a spectacular improvement in her kidneys. Her creatinine levels — which the kidneys regulate — were 3.7 mg/dl when she came to us. It is now down to 1 mg/dl,” said Dr Hemal Shah, head of the Nephrology department and one of the 13 doctors treating Eman. Creatinine levels show how healthy a person’s kidneys are. Most women with normal kidney function have between 0.5 to 1.1 mg/dl of creatinine.

Eman, however, continues to be paralysed on the right side of her body. “She is suffering from occasional seizures. We think it is

because of the brain stroke she suffered three years ago. We will check her brain with a CT scan to learn more,” said one of the doctors. Earlier, a report had showed Eman could be the first person in the world with a rare gene defect that caused her severe obesity.