World’s heaviest woman successfully undergoes surgery in India, loses 100 kgs
MUMBAI, India: Indian doctors said yesterday that an Egyptian who was believed to be the world’s heaviest woman had successfully undergone weightloss surgery after losing over 100 kilogrammes.
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 wellwishers 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 2017 at Saifee Hospital. She had an uneventful surgery and anaesthesia 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-year-old Egyptian’s weight had been brought under 400 kilogrammes since she arrived in Mumbai in early February.
“Eman has lost over 100 kilograms and has been shedding weight gradually on a daily basis with all the treatment and support,” she told AFP.
The Egyptian, who is from the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria, was flown to India’s commercial capital in a specially modified Airbus on Feb 11 for treatment. Abd El Aty’s sister had approached Lakdawala, a specialist weight-loss surgeon, in October, saying her sibling needed urgent medical attention.
Her family told the doctor that as a child she was diagnosed with elephantiasis, a condition that causes the limbs and other body parts to swell, leaving her almost immobile.
Abd El Aty has suffered a stroke and faced a series of other serious ailments owing to her weight including diabetes, high blood pressure, hypertension and sleep deprivation. Her request for an Indian visa was initially denied, but she was granted passage after tweeting a plea for help directly to India’s foreign minister, who intervened.
Abd El Aty had a long wait as no airlines were willing to fly her due to her health complications. — AFP