Weight-loss surgery for 500kg woman in India Published duration 9 March 2017

image copyright Saifee Hospital image caption Eman Ahmed Abd El Aty after the surgery

An Egyptian woman, believed to be the world's heaviest at 500kg (1,102lb), has undergone weight reduction surgery.

A spokesperson at Mumbai's Saifee Hospital said Eman Ahmed Abd El Aty, 36, had lost 100kg since arriving in India in January.

"We are trying to get her fit enough to fly back to Egypt as soon as possible," the hospital said in a statement.

Her family said she had not left her house for 25 years until she came to Mumbai on a chartered plane.

The spokesperson told the BBC that she was likely to lose more weight in the coming months.

The surgery was performed by a team of doctors led by bariatric surgeon, Dr Muffazal Lakdawala.

Bariatric surgery, also known as weight loss surgery, is used as a last resort to treat people who are dangerously obese (having a body mass index of 40 or above or 35 plus other obesity-related health conditions).

image copyright Saifee Hospital image caption Ms Abd El Aty before the surgery

Ms Abd El Aty's family says she weighed 5kg (11lb) at birth and was diagnosed with elephantiasis, a condition in which body parts swell due to a parasitic infection.

By the time she was 11, her weight had risen sharply and she suffered a stroke which left her bedridden.

She is cared for by her mother and sister.

However, Dr Lakdawala told the BBC in December that he believed Ms Abd El Aty did not have elephantiasis but suffered from obesity-related lymphoedema which causes gigantic swelling of the legs.

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