World's heaviest person won't be coming to Mumbai after all!

On December 7 midday broke the story of the worlds heaviest woman finding help from Mumbai bariatric surgeon Dr Muffazal Lakdawala who tweeted to Foreign Affairs minister Sushma Swaraj for a medical visa But after top air ambulance services expessed helplessness at being unable to ferry the patient to India Egyptian surgeons sprung into action launching a pride campaign Egyptians_are_capableMumbai might have missed its chance to clinch the world record for operating on the worlds heaviest woman Egyptian national Iman Ahmad Abdulati after doctors in her home country have come forward to assist in her surgeryMumbaibased bariatric surgeon Dr Muffazal Lakdawala right claims Imanrsquos sister had unsuccessfully sought help from local surgeonsmidday had first reported on Decemner 7 that Iman who at 500 kg is touted to be the worlds fattest had struggled to procure a medical visa for a lifesaving fatreduction surgery After clearing that hurdle Dr Muffazal Lakdawala Mumbaibased bariatric surgeon and chairman of the Institute of Minimal Invasive Surgical Sciences and Research Centre at Saifee Hospital who was to perform the surgery was looking for an alternative to airlift Iman to Mumbai as the doors of the air ambulance werent wide enough to get her inside the aircraftDr Mohey Elbanna professor of Laparoscopic and Bariatric Surgery at Ain Shams University Cairo takes responsibility for the caseHowever after news of Imans ordeal broke out Egyptian doctors at Ain Shams Hospitals in Cairo have come forward to operate on her The Egyptian army has also assured to provide logistical help to ensure that she is transported safely from Alexandria to CairoSpeaking to midday from Egypt Dr Mohey Elbanna professor of laparoscopic and bariatric surgery at Ain Shams University Cairo said Dr ElMeteini dean of the faculty at the hospital has roped in three senior bariatric surgeons to manage Imans caseIman Abdulati is currently waiting to be airlifted from her hometown Alexandria in EgyptldquoIn June Dr ElMeteini approved the establishment of the bariatric surgery department in the hospital It is the firstofitskind in Egypt and the Arab world Ten imminent Egyptian bariatric surgeons have joined the departmentrdquo said Dr Elbanna Asked if the doctors have spoken to Imans family Dr Elbanna said ldquoI am not the right person to comment on it When she will be admitted we will let you knowrdquoDr Dr Khaled Gawdat founder of Egyptian Society of Bariatric Surgery who is part of the team of doctors confirmed the development In a reply to an email sent by midday he said ldquoWe will perform her surgery as soon as she is readyrdquoNo help so farAs per information provided by Dr Lakdawala Imans sister tried to get help from surgeons across Egypt for years However when they received no help to operate on her the family reached out to Dr LakdawalaldquoHer sister has been writing to doctors across the globe I have a friend in Egypt who informed me about the case and I agreed to help the patient The family contacted me and agreed to come to Mumbai for surgeryrdquo said Dr LakdawalaThe report which was published in an Egyptian newspaper on December 9 on Mumbaibased doctors had offered to helpWhen midday asked Dr Gawdat if they had received any such request from Imans sister he said ldquoNot true we have worked on many similar cases in the past 20 yearsrdquoAnother doctor said the Egyptian health ministry has stated that Imans family didnt seek surgical advicemidday was the first to report on December 7 of Dr Muffazal Lakdawala offering to operate on 500kgheavy Iman AbdulatiEgyptians are capable tooAfter news about Imans family reaching out to India went viral Egyptian doctors took it as an affront Over the last week messages with the hashtag Egyptians_are_capable have been doing the rounds online Dr Ahmed Elgeidie a bariatric surgeon from Egypt who is also ready to help Iman said ldquoEgyptian surgeons see this as an insult They want to ensure that the surgery happens in EgyptrdquoThis is not the first time that Mumbai might lose the opportunity to clinch a medical record In 2014 a 350 kgweighing patient from Oman tried to come to Mumbai for a surgery but couldnt find transport Eventually the doctor and the patient gave up Later the patient was shifted to the UAE for the surgeryDr Lakdawala denied that Egyptian doctors had come forward to help out with Imans surgery ldquoIt is false They havent approached the family and the patient doesnt want to get operated there She will come to Mumbai for the surgeryrdquo he said adding that it would take another 15 days to arrange the aircraft to airlift Iman from Egypt