Egypt '500kg woman' loses half her weight after India surgery

An Indian hospital treating an Egyptian woman, believed to have been the world's heaviest woman, says she has lost 250kg (550lbs) after surgery.

Eman Abd El Aty's family said she originally weighed 500kg - and was unable to leave her home for 25 years.

Ms Abd El Aty underwent bariatric surgery at Mumbai's Saifee hospital two months ago.

The hospital said she could now fit into a wheelchair and sit up for longer periods of time.

The surgery was performed by a team of doctors led by bariatric surgeon Dr Muffazal Lakdawala.

The hospital has released new pictures of Ms Abd El Aty following weight reduction surgery.

Bariatric surgery, also known as weight loss surgery, is used as a last resort to treat people who are dangerously obese (having a body mass index of 40 or above, or 35 with other obesity-related health conditions).

Dr Lakdawala said in a statement that Ms Abd El Aty continued to "rapidly" lose weight, but added that a stroke she had suffered as a child meant that she was still paralysed on one side of her body and continued to suffer convulsions. She also has difficulty speaking and swallowing.

The statement added that the hospital was now waiting for her to lose enough weight for her to be able to fit inside a CT scan machine to ascertain the cause of her stroke.

Dr Lakdawala said the next stage of her treatment involved putting her on a trial drug for obesity after six months. The hospital is currently attempting to procure the drug from a US based pharmaceutical company.

Ms Abd El Aty's family says she weighed 5kg (11lb) at birth and was diagnosed with elephantiasis, a condition in which body parts swell due to a parasitic infection.

By the time she was 11, her weight had risen sharply and she suffered a stroke which left her bedridden.
She is cared for by her mother and sister.

Ms Abd El Aty's weight loss means she may no longer be the heaviest woman alive.

The Guinness world records says the heaviest woman living is Pauline Potter in the US, who weighed 293.6 kg (643 lbs) when measured in July 2012.

Bariatric surgery, also known as weight loss surgery, is used as a last resort to treat people who are dangerously obese and carrying an excessive amount of body fat.

The two most common types of weight loss surgery are:
Gastric band, where a band is used to reduce the size of the stomach so a smaller amount of food is required to make someone feel full
Gastric bypass, where the digestive system is re-routed past most of the stomach so less food is digested to make someone feel full

Source: BBC