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In a rare case, three sisters had to undergo bariatric surgery – a surgical method of removing excess fat from the body – after they had health issues such as diabetes, knee pain, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and breathlessness due to obesity.
Sarla Thakkar (46), a resident of Thane, was the first of the three to undergo bariatric surgery in the first half of 2013. The procedure reduced her weight from 95 kg to 55 kg.
“For the past 11 years, I was taking medications to reduce weight and joined a gym, too. But my weight kept increasing and many health problems started cropping up,” she said.
Prior to her surgery, Sarla was unable to walk without experiencing knee pain. Her surgery inspired her two elder sisters, Vimla (53) and Riya (50) (names changed), also underwent surgery two months after Sarla. Their brother, Rakesh Thakkar (40), weighs over 100 kg, is next in line and will also undergo a simiar surgery.
Dr Manish Motwani, bariatric surgeon at Aastha Healthcare Hospital, Mulund, who operated on the three sisters and will perform a surgery on their brother, said, “They have a family history of diabetes. But it is rare to find similar health issues in all the siblings. Despite following a proper diet, they were prone to cardiac diseases, a common outcome of high cholesterol and diabetes.”
“When the body mass index (BMI) of a patient is more than 32, we have no option but to recommend surgery. They all had uncontrolled blood pressure and were hypertensive. With their BMI, there was little scope of success through exercise,” Motwani said.
While Sarla’s body mass index (BMI) was 35 before the surgery, Vimla and Riya had a BMI of 36 and 33 respectively.
After the surgery, the siblings weigh 35-40 kg less. “Even sitting on the floor was not possible. Now I can manage,” said Sarla.
tabassum.barnagarwala@expressindia.com
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