Obese Egyptian woman arrives in Mumbai for bariatric surgery

An Egyptian woman weighing around 500 kilograms (1,102 pounds ) arrived in India's western Mumbai city early on Saturday (February 11) morning for a weight reduction surgery.

The bed-ridden 36-year-old Eman Ahmed Abd El Aty was flown in on a chartered plane to Mumbai and driven to Saifee Hospital in a large truck. A crane was used to lift Eman's bed from the truck into the hospital.

Special arrangements, including a special room with a broad doorway and a special intensive care unit, have been made at Saifee Hospital to house and treat Eman.

Eman will be put under observation for a month before she is operated on by renowned Indian bariatric surgeon, Dr. Muffazal Lakdawala.

Eman was initially denied a visa by the Indian embassy in Cairo. It was only after a tweet from Dr. Lakdawala to Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj that Eman was granted a visa.

Eman was diagnosed with elephantiasis at birth, a condition which causes the body parts to swell. She is paralysed in her right arm and leg.