ABHA — An immobile and morbidly obese patient entered hospital on a stretcher, and came out of it walking on his own two feet. Physiotherapy and a gastric bypass operation greatly helped pare his weight down from 375 kg to 159 kg. Hattan Al-Shehri had been confined to his small room for six years, watched over by his septuagenarian mother. In a first-of-its-kind initiative by the Abha Medical Forum for Obesity, Abdullah Ali Aseeri, the forum administrator, organized the measures necessary to transport and treat Hattan. Aseeri's initiative was taken up by the General Manager of Health Issues in Aseer region, Dr. Ibrahim Al-Hafzi, who, after reading the report prepared by Aseeri, ordered that all available resources be directed to transporting Hattan to Asir General Hospital in Abha for treatment. The team from the Abha Medical Forum for Obesity helped Al-Majardah Civil Defense and Red Crescent personnel transport the patient using an ambulance. The patient was accompanied by a GP and a nurse from Al-Majardah General Hospital. Hattan entered Asir General Hospital on Aug. 15 last year. There, the full scale of his predicament was exposed: His obesity rendered him incapable of performing the simplest of necessary tasks. Dr. Ali Mani' Al-Ahmari, endoscopy and obesity consultant at the hospital, oversaw Hattan's case and produced a full report by subjecting him to intensified checks and analysis. Hattan was given a daily 1,500-calorie diet to follow to ensure weight loss without the loss of vitamins and essential minerals. Hattan also underwent concentrated physiotherapy sessions to help him reclaim his walking ability. Dr. Alahmari, in charge of Hattan's case, explained that the medical team decided to perform an endoscopic gastric bypass operation on Hattan. The operation lasted for three hours, after which Hattan was transferred to intensive care. He was kept under observation for four days, and he displayed good response to the operation. He emerged from the hospital some weeks later walking on two feet, having entered on a stretcher. Saudi Gazette, accompanied by the forum administrator who had adopted Hattan's case Abdullah Aseeri, visited Hattan Al-Shehri in his home in Al-Majardah. Hattan was weighed, and everyone was pleasantly surprised to see him at 159 kg — a stark contrast to the 375 kg a mere few weeks ago. Hattan expressed his delight in being able to move freely and relying on himself after years of being bedridden.
