more-in Thoothukudi A 47-year-old woman, who earlier weighed 170 kg, is about to walk out of the Thoothukudi Government Medical College Hospital with a lighter heart and body. T. Selvi, wife of a fisherman from Lion’s Town in the city, was suffering from morbid obesity for several years. She had a hefty, sagging abdomen that caused breathing problems, knee and backpain, and severely curtailed her ability to walk. “Two years ago, we went to Chennai but the doctors said her case was complicated. She stayed at home ever since. When we came here, they agreed to do the surgery,” said her daughter, A. Diana. The doctors at the GH geared up for the complicated surgery. “Because of her weight, there were problems with performing scans, administering anaesthesia and performing the surgery itself,” Dr. D. Rajkumar, Assistant Professor, Department of Plastic Surgery, told reporters here on Tuesday. The procedure called abdominoplasty or commonly called as tummy tuck involved a number of risks, including death. A team of plastic surgeons, including K. Kannan, B. Aruna Devi and Rajkumar, performed the surgery on April 19. In the days following the surgery, Mrs. Selvi was unwell and was put in intensive care for nearly a month. “The cost for such a long stay would have been very high at private hospitals,” says M. Lalitha, Dean. However, she got the treatment free of cost here. Mrs. Selvi has now recovered and has been taken off the intensive care and is ready for discharge. “The case is a milestone, as we have overcome problems in infrastructure to successfully perform the surgery,” says Dr. Rajkumar.

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