Indian doctors put an Egyptian believed to be the world’s heaviest woman on a special liquid diet on Monday as they prepared her for an emergency weight-loss operation.
Eman Ahmed weighs around 500kg and had not left her house in more than two decades until arriving in Mumbai at the weekend for bariatric surgery - a stomach-shrinking bypass procedure carried out on those wanting to lose excessive weight.
Doctors said the 37-year-old would be fed only liquid supplements for the next 25 days to help her lose the 50kg required before they can begin operating.
"Only after all the diseases related to obesity are brought under control and Eman loses weight will we conduct the surgery," Dr Muffazal Lakdawala said, adding the procedure would take two and a half hours.
The specialist weight-loss surgeon said he and his team at Mumbai’s Saifee hospital hoped the surgery would help Ms Ahmed shed another 150kg.
It would allow her to sit up and feed herself, something not possible in her present state.
Following the surgery she will spend five months being closely monitored by the Indian specialists and receiving physiotherapy to exercise her muscles before returning to Egypt.
Dr Lakdawala said if the initial treatment was successful then doctors could use surgery to bring Ms Ahmed’s weight down to under 100kg in a couple of years’ time.
The Egyptian, who hails from the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria, was flown to India’s commercial capital in a specially modified Airbus on Saturday for treatment.
Ms Ahmed had a long wait as no airlines were willing to fly her due to her health complications.
Her sister had approached Dr Lakdawala in October, saying her sibling needed urgent medical attention.
Her family told the doctor that as a child she was diagnosed with elephantiasis, a condition that causes the limbs and other body parts to swell, leaving her almost immobile.
Ms Ahmed has suffered a stroke and faced a series of other serious ailments owing to her weight including diabetes, high blood pressure, hypertension and sleep deprivation.
Her request for an Indian visa was initially denied, but she was granted passage after tweeting a plea for help directly to India’s foreign minister, who intervened.
India is a major destination for medical tourists seeking quality services and no waiting lists at a fraction of the cost of western countries.

Source : The National