Hyderabad: The bariatric surgery on Eman Ahmed, who was world’s heaviest woman, was carried out in Saifee Hospital putting Indian bariatric surgeons in a spot as many of them felt that helping an international patient had led to a bitter blame game and did not auger well for Indian doctors. Eman succumbed to co-morbid conditions in Abu Dhabi Hospital in September.
The plight of 500-kg weighing Eman came to light when senior bariatric surgeon Dr Muffazal Lakdawala and his team visited Egypt for a conference. The plight of the woman made him and his team look for options to help her lose weight through bariatric surgery. Before Eman came to India, a bitter undercurrent had started between doctors in Egypt and West Asia who insisted that they could carry out the surgery.
The family had no money to pay and the cost of the surgery in India was collected through crowd funding where many doctors, medical fraternity specialists and celebrities supported the cause of Dr Lakdwala. It had become a matter of pride for the medical fraternity as they were taking a huge risk, but it was also seen as an attempt to save a life through the surgery. While before and during the surgery, the family was co-operative. The problem started when her sister, Saimma, was told that they would have to take Eman back to Egypt and opt for home care. On April 14, Saimma released a video with English sub-titles and alleged that the 200 kg weight loss claimed by doctors was not correct and that her sister was getting epileptic attacks. This upset the medical fraternity who believed that the good outcome of the case was being overshadowed by ulterior motives.
Dr Lakdawala said the patient had lost weight only because of liquid diet. The neurological conditions had developed due to dead and old tissues in the brain region which were leading to seizures.
Anger spread as the team of Dr Aparna G Bhasker, who was the chief of the surgery, resigned from the care of the patient. Eman was finally shifted to Abu Dhabi hospital but the undercurrents continued.
Dr Venugopal Pareek, a senior bariatric surgeon, said, “Eman lost 242 kg in India but there were post-operative complications which were tackled in the Abu Dhabi Hospital. Doctors there did not perform any surgery and merely took care of Eman.” As a result, there was no hue and cry raised after Eman’s death.
Hyderabad: The bariatric surgery on Eman Ahmed, who was world’s heaviest woman, was carried out in Saifee Hospital putting Indian bariatric surgeons in a spot as many of them felt that helping an international patient had led to a bitter blame game and did not auger well for Indian doctors. Eman succumbed to co-morbid conditions in Abu Dhabi Hospital in September.
The plight of 500-kg weighing Eman came to light when senior bariatric surgeon Dr Muffazal Lakdawala and his team visited Egypt for a conference. The plight of the woman made him and his team look for options to help her lose weight through bariatric surgery. Before Eman came to India, a bitter undercurrent had started between doctors in Egypt and West Asia who insisted that they could carry out the surgery.
The family had no money to pay and the cost of the surgery in India was collected through crowd funding where many doctors, medical fraternity specialists and celebrities supported the cause of Dr Lakdwala. It had become a matter of pride for the medical fraternity as they were taking a huge risk, but it was also seen as an attempt to save a life through the surgery. While before and during the surgery, the family was co-operative. The problem started when her sister, Saimma, was told that they would have to take Eman back to Egypt and opt for home care. On April 14, Saimma released a video with English sub-titles and alleged that the 200 kg weight loss claimed by doctors was not correct and that her sister was getting epileptic attacks. This upset the medical fraternity who believed that the good outcome of the case was being overshadowed by ulterior motives.
Dr Lakdawala said the patient had lost weight only because of liquid diet. The neurological conditions had developed due to dead and old tissues in the brain region which were leading to seizures. Anger spread as the team of Dr Aparna G Bhasker, who was the chief of the surgery, resigned from the care of the patient. Eman was finally shifted to Abu Dhabi hospital but the undercurrents continued. Dr Venugopal Pareek, a senior bariatric surgeon, said, “Eman lost 242 kg in India but there were post-operative complications which were tackled in the Abu Dhabi Hospital. Doctors there did not perform any surgery and merely took care of Eman.” As a result, there was no hue and cry raised after Eman’s death.
