She holds the record as the world's heaviest woman alive. Now, it can be told she is the first woman to have shed more than 100 kilograms and more before and after a high-risk surgery.
Eman Ahmed weighs 498 kilograms and is said to have never left her house in Egypt for 20 years until her arrival in Mumbai, India, where she was admitted in Saifee Hospital last month.
Liquid Diet Before Surgery
Eman, who was placed on liquid diet, lost more than 100 kilograms before the surgery, which has opened an opportunity her doctors didn't "want to miss."
"We still can't believe we pulled it off," Dr. Muffazal Lakdawala said.
Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy
After the 37-year-old Egyptian woman shed weight, her doctors were encouraged to proceed with bariatric surgery on March 7.
"Her parameters looked good and we didn't want to miss that window," Lakdawala, who is leading her treatment, said.
She underwent a laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy, where doctors removed two-third of her stomach.
Gall Bladder With Stones Also Removed
The doctor said her gall bladder with stones in it was also removed to avoid complications later.
"She has shrunk," Lakdawala declared. The five-foot-wide Eman was flown to India in a modified Airbus.
Lakdawala is confident that with a lot more of fluid to lose, Eman could "shed over 100 kilos in 45 days."
Doctors Optimistic
"We are happy to inform all well-wishers that the medical team of Saifee Hospital has successfully performed the surgery," a hospital statement said.
Eman is considered the world's heaviest woman, heavier than Pauline Potter, an American, who weighed 293 kilograms in July last year.
Samples of the fat removed from her, meanwhile, were sent to Melbourne, Australia for further examination "to learn about tumor markers, genetic or other causes."
Her family told the doctors that Eman was diagnosed to have suffered from elephantiasis when she was a child. Her limbs had swelled, which caused her unable to move. As years went by, she suffered several serious illnesses such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and hypertension.
Eman has been on fluid diet by which her body has adjusted well, after which the medical team will be working to "correct all her associated medical problems, to get her fit enough to fly back to Egypt."
The doctor is also optimistic that her patient will be able to walk hopefully "in a year's time." Eman has not walked for more than 20 years, which led to undeveloped legs.
"She shall need a lot of strength training," he said.
