Thaindian News

New Delhi, May 6 (IANS) For Stelios Tsihlas, 44, life was restricted to a specially-made battery operated wheelchair as that was the Tanzanian businessman’s only way to move around. He could not walk beyond 10 steps because of his massive 250 kg weight.

A native of Dar-es-Salaam, Tsihlas underwent bariatric surgery in a hospital in the capital and feels he has got a new lease of life as the operation will help him reduce 125 kg in the next two years.

“When the patient came to us with multiple health problems, he was a type 2 diabetic, had high blood pressure, hypertension, bronchial disorders, repeated attacks of deep vein thrombosis and a body weight that was beyond his control,” Randeep Wadhawan, head of department for minimal access surgery and bariatric surgery at Fortis Flt. Lt. Rajan Dhall Hospital in Vasant Kunj, south Delhi, told IANS.

The surgery, called ‘laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy with antrectomy’, involved a team of cardiologists, diabetes experts and pulmonologists for chest problems.

In the first step, a small video camera was taken inside the patient’s abdomen.

“A keyhole was made in the abdomen of the patient, through which nearly 80 percent of the stomach was reduced through titanium staples. When there is a reduction in the size of the stomach, the capacity to intake food also changes eventually,” explained Wadhawan.

The procedure was done after joining two operation tables together as most operation theatre tables are designed to support weights of up to 180 kg.

Medical experts pointed out that the key in the success of bariatric surgery lies in controlling the appetite hormone called ‘Ghrelin’.

“Ghrelin is a hormone that gives you appetite. This is produced in the part of the stomach that is reduced in the surgery,” he said.

Tsehlis, who was operated upon April 27, has now been discharged. He has lost seven to eight kg in the first week itself.

“In almost three months’ time, the patient will lose about 20-30 kg. He would lose probably around 50 percent of his weight, 125 kg, in a period of two years,” added Wadhawan.

The cost of the surgery in India is just over Rs.2 lakh ($4,450) — about 30 to 70 percent less as compared to that in the US and Britain.

“The patient may require other procedures after a span of three years from the date of surgery. It depends on how many pounds the patient has been able to shed after the first surgery,” said Arvind Kumar, professor of surgery at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).

“The weight loss depends on the kind of obesity — super obesity, morbid obesity, and other types that depend on the body mass index,” added Kumar.