JEDDAH: After successfully removing excess fat from a 250-kilogram man, surgeons at the King Fahd Medical City in Riyadh have a more enormous task coming. The patient this time is a 610-kg man.
Health Minister Abdullah Al-Rabeeah has identified the patient as Khalid bin Mohsen Shaari from the southern border province of Jazan, a report of the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said.
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah ordered the Health Ministry to look into the case urgently as the patient suffers from unusual obesity and could hardly move, Al-Rabeeah was quoted saying.
He said the Ministry of Health is sending a team of medical specialists to visit the patient in Jazan to arrange for his transfer to Riyadh.
"Final arrangements for transport and treatment are currently underway in coordination with the concerned authorities," the report said.
Just recently, the King Fahd Medical City successfully operated on a 27-year old Saudi man suffering from extreme obesity and removed 80-kg flab from his stomach.
The operation would help reduce the man's weight by 60 to 70 kg within six months, said Dr. Ayed Al-Qahtani, consultant laparoscopic surgery and obesity and head of the medical team treating the man.
Al-Qahtani said the patient's condition is good and stable and he "is now undergoing a rehabilitation program, which will be carried out with the support of his family,” Al-Qahtani added.
The man was said to be suffering from this disease since the age of 5 and cannot walk and uses a wheelchair for movement.
Al-Qahtani emphasized the need to carry out quick surgery on such patients to avoid complications and for good results.
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