IANS/Pune

A 31-year old Briton, who was the country’s heaviest person three years ago, has shed a whopping 170kg from 310 kg after undergoing bariatric surgery at a hospital in India and should stabilise at 110kg, his proud doctor said.
“Last week, Zachari Smith reported a 170kg loss - which is perhaps the highest drop in weight for any patient in the UK and all of Asia. His Body-Mass Index (BMI) is still high but that’s compensated by his good health,” a beaming Shashank Shah, bariatric surgeon at Pune’s Ruby Hall Clinic said.
But, barely three-and-a-half years ago, life had come to a standstill for Smith.
Shunned and discarded by all hospitals in Britain and Europe, Smith was reduced to a recluse in his Wales home with no company, no friends and no girlfriends, with only his steadily increasing body all around him, said Shah.
“He was alarmed when as aged around 17, he suddenly started gaining weight and in 10 years climbed to a dizzying 310kg on the weighing scale,” Shah said.
His desperate family tried all sorts of treatment in Britain and in Europe, but owing to the high risks involved in dealing with a person of his obesity, most slammed their doors on Smith.
After repeated Internet searches for a cure, Smith learnt of the treatment at the Ruby Hall Clinic and finally spoke with Shah who said: “No problem. We can definitely treat you.”
These were the words Smith was craving to hear more than anything else - and despite financial challenges, he decided to travel to Pune. After all, 10 years ago, Shah pioneered the “sleeve gastrectomy” in India and more than 40 patients weighing over 200kg have already undergone this safely without any post-surgical complaints.
While Smith’s problems were on way to ending, the hospital’s problems had just begun for the mega-operation in Novemebr 2010 which finally cost around Rs400,000.
“He travelled business class to Mumbai since it had wider seats. We sent a special vehicle which could take his load and safely bring him to Pune,” Shah said.
Two large hospital beds were joined to accommodate him, double air-conditioning was installed, huge gowns were stitched, a special operation table was arranged and extra long instruments were acquired for the surgery.
Besides, all the staff were sensitised on handling such a huge human body with full love and care. A full-fledged pre-surgery drill was conducted to ensure things went off smoothly.
“On D-day, we drilled four small holes in his abdomen and the opening to his stomach was 2ft deep in his body! We performed a vertical sleeve gastrectomy which entailed cutting off nearly 70% of his stomach in the one-hour-long procedure,” Shah explained.
This would help reduce his food cravings, control his food intake and curb certain hormonal activities which result in natural weight loss, he added.
Smith was back in his room an hour after the surgery, feeling relieved and independently flew back to Britain five days later.
The miracle started immediately - in the first month, he lost 20kg, and gradually he continued losing weight and is now at 140kg. “We are targeting stability within a few years at around 110kg,” which is ideal for his large body frame and 6ft plus height, Shah said.
“Later on, Smith will need a plastic surgery to peel off more than 10kg of accumulated skin from his previous 310kg mass,” Shah said.