An Egyptian, who is believed to be the world's heaviest woman, has successfully undergone weight loss surgery. The surgery took place March 7, approximately one month after the woman arrived in Mumbai for bariatric surgery.
Eman Ahmed Abd El Aty, who weighed approximately 1,102 pounds hadn't left her home in Egypt for more than two decades before her trip to Mumbai. After the bariatric surgery, Abd El Aty lost approximately 220 pounds through medical support, treatment and daily monitoring.
World's Heaviest Woman Lost 220 Pounds, Underwent Surgery
The medical team of Saifee Hospital had a successful surgical intervention on Abd El Aty, according to their statement. The procedure was a Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy, which involves a resection of two-thirds of the stomach, providing increased satiety and decreased appetite.
The procedure is generally used for weight loss, especially among people who are morbidly obese, as a last resort to help them lose weight.
After undergoing surgery, Abd El Aty has been on oral fluids, which she is accepting without issues. According to the statement, the next focus of the medical team will fall on correcting the other medical problems associated with obesity.
Once Abd El Aty is fit enough to fly, she will go back to Egypt.
Even after losing so much weight, Abd El Aty is still considered to be the heaviest documented case, being ahead of American Pauline Potter. Potter won the Guinness Book of World Records in July 2016, with a recorded weight of 645 pounds.
"Eman has lost over 100 kilograms and has been shedding weight gradually on a daily basis with all the treatment and support," noted a spokeswoman.
Eman's family contacted medical support back in October. Eman has suffered from different medical conditions throughout her entire life, after she was diagnosed with elephantiasis when she was a child. This medical condition involves swelling of limbs and other body parts, which has left the woman almost immobile.
Additionally, the 37-year-old woman has already been through a stroke, as well as a series of other diseases associated with her weight problem, among which are diabetes, sleep deprivation, and hypertension.
Eman had issues getting to India, as well. First, her visa request was denied, and she was only granted passage after the direct intervention of India's foreign minister. Because Abd El Aty had no other option left, she tweeted about her problem, and this is how her story got exposure.
After finally obtaining a visa, Abd El Aty had to wait for a long time, as the airlines were reluctant to serving her, due to the numerous medical complications.
Since her arrival in Mumbai, Abd El Aty has been on a liquid diet, especially created to lower her weight. She can now sit up, and the medical team declared she will be under close observation for numerous months. Abd El Aty will also be subjected to physiotherapy before going back home.
Bariatrics And Obesity Rates
Bariatrics is the part of medicine responsible for identifying the causes of obesity, as well preventing and treating obese patients. Recent studies suggest that Bariatric procedures can also be useful when it comes to managing type 2 diabetes.
According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, the incidence of bariatric surgery has plateaued at approximately 113,000 cases every year. Additionally, complication rates have dropped, from 10.5 percent of all cases back in 1993 to 7.6 percent in 2006.
Every year, the U.S. economy allocates approximately $1.5 billion for bariatric surgery.
