An Egyptian woman said to be the heaviest woman in the world left a hospital in India after doctors said she lost more than 300 kilograms — a whopping 713 pounds!
After spending two months recovering from what is likely the most ambitious weight-loss surgery in history, 36-year-old Eman Ahmed Abd El Aty has been released from the hospital. However, she won’t be going home; instead, she’ll be heading towards the United Arab Emirates, where she will undergo a year of special physiotherapy.
El Aty weighed 5kg (11 pounds) at birth, definitely on the high side, but still within acceptable limits. She seemed like a normal child, but problems quickly emerged. Suffering from a thyroid problem, her weight started to develop uncontrollably, up until she reached more than 500 kilograms. She couldn’t move and spent her life laying down, which only furthered her problems. She started developing several associated conditions, from diabetes and high blood pressure to even a stroke which further reduced her mobility. This was her last, desperate chance at living a somewhat normal life and required huge efforts from her family. El Aty’s sister Shaimaa began reaching out to leading weight-loss professionals around the world before she finally found Indian surgeon Muffazal Lakdawala, MS, who offered to treat El Aty for free.
They decided on a type bariatric surgery called a sleeve gastrectomy. In this procedure, the stomach is reduced to about 15% of its original size, by surgical removal of a large portion of the stomach along the greater curvature, resulting in a sleeve-like structure.
Preparations for the surgery started way before the hospital visit. El Aty was put on a liquid diet to somewhat reduce her weight in preparation for bariatric surgery. The surgery went fine, there were no complications, and hospital medics report that after 20 years of spending her life sitting, completely immobile,
“The team of doctors at Saifee Hospital has done a fabulous job and her recovery has been unprecedented,” announced the Save Eman Cause, a group that has advocated for El Aty and documented her progress throughout her weight-loss journey, in a press release shared with People. “She is stable and all parameters are under control. She will continue to need neurological rehabilitation and physiotherapy.”
Despite the relative success of the surgery, orthopedic specialists have said that Abd El Aty would never walk again. Even so, she was reportedly able to sit and was feeling much better than pre-surgery. I’d imagine losing 200 kgs can make you feel like that. In order to continue losing weight and become healthier, she now has to work hard for the physiotherapy.
She and her family greatly depend on crowd funding, so if you want to help, here’s how:
For all in India who would like to contribute to @SaveEmanCause we are now accepting contributions on https://t.co/l3pePOWM8T I am grateful pic.twitter.com/j8FxPnxDTk
— Dr Muffi Lakdawala (@DrMuffi) January 19, 2017