'Heaviest woman' admitted to UAE hospital for treatment
- Published
Doctors say Eman Abd El Aty has lost more than 250kg
An Egyptian woman who was believed to have been the world's heaviest has been admitted to a hospital in Abu Dhabi to receive further treatment.
Eman Abd El Aty, said to have weighed around 500kg (1,102lb), left an Indian hospital on Thursday after doctors said she lost more than 250kg.
She flew a cargo plane to the United Arab Emirates. Doctors say she will undergo multidisciplinary treatment.
Recent weeks saw a row erupt between her doctors in India and her family.
It began when her sister, Shaimaa Selim, released a short video on social media alleging that her sister was still unable to speak or move, and had not lost as much weight as the hospital was claiming.
The hospital strongly denied the allegations.
The surgeon, Dr Muffi Lakdawala, told an Indian news channel that Ms Selim had wanted her sister to stay in hospital until she was able to walk again, but orthopaedic specialists had told her Ms Abd El Aty would never walk again.
Doctors, paramedics and nurses accompanied her on the flight to Abu Dhabi, according to reports.
She had arrived in India on a specially-modified Airbus plane in February and was put on a special liquid diet to reduce her weight so that doctors could perform bariatric surgery.
Doctors, paramedics and nurses accompanied Ms Abd El Aty on the flight to Abu Dhabi
The AFP news agency quoted newspapers in United Arab Emirates as saying that Ms Selim has disagreed with how the Indian doctors had treated her sister.
"I asked for help (in the Emirates) after noticing the lack of progress," she said on Thursday.
What is bariatric surgery?
Bariatric surgery, also known as weight loss surgery, is used as a last resort to treat people who are dangerously obese and carrying an excessive amount of body fat.
The two most common types of weight loss surgery are:
Gastric band, where a band is used to reduce the size of the stomach so a smaller amount of food is required to make someone feel full
Gastric bypass, where the digestive system is re-routed past most of the stomach so less food is digested to make someone feel full