El-Aty winning battle of bulge

MUMBAI: Indian doctors said Thursday that an Egyptian who is believed to be the world’s heaviest woman had successfully undergone weight-loss surgery after losing over 100 kg.

Eman Ahmed Abd El-Aty, who previously weighed around 500 kilos, had not left her house in Egypt in over two decades until arriving in Mumbai last month for bariatric surgery.

“We are happy to inform all well-wishers that the medical team of Saifee Hospital has successfully performed the surgery on Eman Ahmed,” said a statement.

“Eman successfully underwent a Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy on March 7 at Saifee Hospital. She had an uneventful surgery and anesthesia course.

“She is now on oral fluids and accepting them well. The future course of action for the medical team working on her will be to correct all her associated medical problems, to get her fit enough to fly back to Egypt as soon as possible,” it added.

A spokeswoman for Dr. Muffazal Lakdawala, who is leading Abd El-Aty’s treatment, said the 37-yearold Egyptian’s weight had been brought under 400 kg since she arrived in Mumbai in early February.

“Eman has lost over 100 kg and has been shedding weight gradually on a daily basis with all the treatment and support,” she told AFP.

The Egyptian is still believed to be the world’s heaviest woman ahead of American Pauline Potter who the Guinness Book of World Records recorded at 293 kilos in July last year.

They say she is now able to sit up and is expected to spend several months being monitored and receiving physiotherapy to exercise her muscles before returning to Egypt.