How Indian doctors helped 8-year-old Saudi Arabian kid from a deadly disease

An 8-year-old boy from Saudi Arabia has got a new lease of life as the doctors in India have conducted successful surgery for Morbid Obesity along with OSA (Obstructive Sleep Apnoea). According to experts, the combination of morbid obesity and OSA is a life-threatening condition.

The kid from Saudi Arabia was severely ill with a deadly combination of Morbid Obesity and OSA, hence; he could not sleep at night and had to stay awake the whole night. However, Rosewalk Health Care in Delhi has fulfilled the dream of the kid by letting him enjoy his sleep as by conducting a complex surgery successfully.

Dr. Rajat Goel, Bariatric and Laparoscopic Surgeon at Rosewalk informed that the kid (patient) required a BiPAP machine to sleep overnight. He was having severe OSA (breathing is interrupted during sleep, for longer than 10 seconds at least 5 times per hour throughout your sleep period), and was advised by the BiPAP machine to breathe which he could not tolerate.

“He was very much addicted to chocolates and fast food. He was advised psychological and pediatric Endocrinologist counselling but his family after meeting them wanted some definitive, fast result procedure to save his life. They wanted him to undergo Bariatric surgery and consulted me for the same. Bariatric (Metabolic or Life style modification) surgery is like laparoscopic surgery, like gallbladder or hernia or appendix surgery requiring 4 to 5 key holes to perform it,” Dr. Goel said.

First, Dr. Goel refused surgery due to the age of the child and was not sure whether the child will be able to understand post-operative dietary protocol.  However, the kid’s family was counselled about the procedure and were informed about its pros and cons. Interestingly, after the successful anesthesia, the kid was taken for Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy.

“The child lost 10 kg of weight in 1week time and could sleep easily without needing a BiPAP machine. Due to hormonal changes after surgery, he stopped eating chocolates and was counselled by a dietician along with his family for a healthy lifestyle,” Dr. Goel added.

He concluded by saying that if Bariatric surgery is done on the right patient at the right time, it can be like saving with long lasting results. Life after surgery is like a patient becoming a new born baby with new taste and control over eating which lasts for 6 months and all eating habits can be reformed due to hormonal changes in bariatric surgery.

It not only improves physical health and treats/ controls all diseases associated with obesity like type 2 DM, HT, OSA, PCOS, FATTY LIVER and a lot more but also improves mental (depression, inferiority complex, anxiety, eating disorders associated with obesity) and social life. To summarize surgery gives you a second chance to live life in a healthy way.