Mumbai woman claims she lost 214kg with two surgeries in 4 years

The woman said her weight kept piling on throughout her teens, despite following strict diets and training in the gym. She weighed 126 kg when she was 16 years old.

A 46-year-old Vasai resident has claimed bariatric surgeries over the last four years have reduced her weight to 86kg from 300kg.

Amita Rajani weighed 300kg (left) before the surgeries. She now weighs 85kg. (HT Photo)

Doctors who treated Amita Rajani, who runs a soft toys factory, said she might have been the heaviest patient in Asia to undergo the surgery. However, experts from the field were not able to confirm the claim. Amita and her doctors spoke to the media on Wednesday to announce the success of the treatment.

Mumta, Amita’s mother, said, “When she was born, her weight was fine, but it kept increasing. When she was six, doctors told us she is obese,” the mother said.

Amita said the weight kept piling on throughout her teens, despite following strict diets and training in the gym. She weighed 126 kg when she was 16 years old. “At that point, I was on 14 to 15 days of liquid diet, taking slimming pills, but nothing seemed to help,” she said.

When she was 28, she needed two caretakers to take her to the washroom. “I could barely walk. It would take me 45 minutes to walk from my bed to the washroom,” said Amita. At 35, she said she had become completely bedridden. A trip to Europe for treatment was not fruitful either, she added.

In 2014, on a relative’s recommendation, Amita had approached Dr Shashank Shah, founder of LaparoObeso centres in Mumbai and Pune. By then, her weight had increased to 300kg, she said. Dr Shah said factors such as hormones, metabolism and genetic predisposition lead to the weight gain. “It is very difficult for anyone to weigh 300kg as a result of their eating habits,” said Dr Shah.

Once Amita decided to undergo bariatric surgery, she was ferried from her house to a tempo in a custom-made sofa that took her to a facility in Pune, where she was operated. “Around 18 people were needed to put her on the sofa,” said Dr Shah.

Dr Shah said he had performed the first round of surgery — laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy — in 2015. The surgery involved removing a part of her stomach to reduce its capacity and Amita’s appetite. “In two years, she had lost 130kg. Her diabetes reversed, blood pressure levels and kidney functions became normal,” said Dr Shah.

In 2017, Dr Shah performed a second round of surgery — gastric bypass — in which the pouch of the stomach was connected to the intestine. “This stimulates hormones from the later part of the intestine and aids in metabolic function,” said Dr Shah. He added that like any surgery, Amita stood a risk from the anaesthesia and surgery-related infection but has recovered well and now weighs 86kg.

A 2018 paper in the British Medical Journal’s Truama Surgery and Acute Care said bariatric procedures are generally safe and effective, but can be associated with devastating complications, some of which may be fatal if not addressed quickly.

Dr Ramen Goel, senior bariatric and metabolic surgeon at the Centre of Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery, Wockhardt Hospitals, Agripada, said patients weighing 30kg above their ideal weight as per the Body Mass Index — a ratio of body weight to height — are candidates for bariatric surgery. “For patients who have diabetes, blood pressure or kidney problems, their condition needs to be optimised before operation,” he added.