Eman Ahmed, world's heaviest woman, in Mumbai for bariatric surgery: What to expect from weight loss surgery

New Delhi: Eman Ahmed, the Egyptian woman believed to be the world's heaviest at 500kg, was recently flown in to Saifee hospital in Mumbai from Cairo to undergo a bariatric surgery to help her lose weight.

Doctors said Eman, who has already lost about 30kg in the last two months under the supervision of Dr Muffazal Lakdawala, still needs to lose another 100kg before undergoing the procedures.

Dr Lakdawala, who had himself travelled to Alexandria to assess Eman's health, is the founder of Centre for Obesity and Digestive Surgery CODS, Mumbai, and chairperson of Institute of Minimal Access Surgical Sciences and Research Centre, Saifee Hospital.

The team of doctors monitoring Eman, led by Dr Lakdawala, is expected to announce the further course of treatment today. According to surgeons, who have performed surgeries on similar obese patients, Eman's entire treatment could take as long as four years.

Here are some important facts you must know about bariatric surgery:

• Bariatric surgery, also known as weight loss surgery, is any kind of surgery that is carried out on the stomach and/or intestines to help a person with extreme obesity lose weight.
• There are two basic types of bariatric surgery - restrictive surgeries and malabsorptive/restrictive surgeries.

      - Restrictive surgery – This technique works by physically restricting the size of the stomach and slowing down digestion.

      - Malabsorptive/restrictive surgery – This is a more invasive surgery. In addition to restricting the size of the stomach, this procedure physically removes parts of the digestive tract, interfering with              absorption of calories

• Weight loss surgery helps some people to lose weight, however, it may not work well for everyone who wants to lose weight.
• Bariatric surgery procedures cause significant long-term weight loss (60 to 80% excess weight loss), recovery from diabetes, improvement in cardiovascular risk factors, a reduction in mortality of 23% from 40%, reduced rates of developing cancer and psychiatric disorders.
• However, as with all types of surgery, weight loss surgery carries the risk and can cause a number of side effects, including:

      - Internal bleeding or excessive bleeding

      - Infection

      - Blood clots

      - Lung or breathing problems

      - Leaks in gastrointestinal system

      - Adverse reactions to anesthesia

      - Gallstones

       - Death (rare)

People who have had weight loss surgery need to make to a rigorous and lifelong changes to their lifestyle – a carefully controlled diet, regular exercise - to avoid putting weight back on or long-term complications.

Although bariatric surgery provides many benefits, experts recommend that people should opt for a healthy, calorie-controlled diet and regular exercise to lose weight.