Weight-loss surgery saves man's life

Amit Bhanushali weighed 197 kg before his bariatric surgery in a city hospital

For Vashi resident Amit Bhanushali weight had become a major cause of concern in his life. The 32-year-old, who weighed 197 kilogram, was finding it difficult to move a few steps too and would suffer from pangs of breathlessness the minute he moved faster. Amit was unsure on what would help him reduce his unwanted excessive fat. He took several opinions but his weight just kept increasing after every passing day. Soon he realised that he needed treatment and was willing to do anything for it. Amit felt that obesity was causing great problem in his personal as well as professional life. The sad part is that obesity had made him diabetic as well. "Just like any other person I would eat everything be it vegetarian or non vegetarian food. Soon I realized that my weight was increasing and I needed to take necessary steps before it got too late. My wife has been a major motivating factor in my life and has been with me through all of it. She was the one who told me that I needed to get myself checked," says Bhanushali, a builder by profession. Finally, Amit decided to meet Dr Raman Goel at Fortis Hospital, Vashi and it was decided that a bariatric (stomach) surgery would be performed on him. On August 2 Amit was operated, at the hospital. This two-hour long operation, was successful and Amit had managed to loose 20 kg in 22 days. "The best thing about bariatric surgery is that the patient will not only reduce his weight substantially but also will be able to get rid of the diabetes or other accompanying ailments. Amit will lose more than 100 kg in the next 8-12 months and will be able to get rid of diabetes in the next 2-3 months," said Dr Goel. Generally, in a bariatric surgery, weight loss is achieved by reducing the size of the stomach through a simple laparoscopic procedure. With a reduced stomach size, a patient will not be able to indulge in food, as he would do earlier. Dr Ratandeep Chaskar, director, Fortis Hospital said, "Bariatric surgery needs to be done with the right set up and infrastructure. Special beds, apparatus and instruments are needed to operate upon such a heavy patient." It is only in the first month of the operation that the patient is able to loose so much weight. In the following months the patient loses only around 7-8kgs of weight. "Currently I am only on liquid diet and now since my stomach size is much smaller, I feel full even if I drink a small quantity of juice," says Amit.