Five-year-old Bangladeshi girl with rare disorder undergoes bariatric surgery at Chennai private hospital

5-year-old girl with Prader-Willi Syndrome undergoes laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy in Chennai to treat obesity, improving health prospects.

A 5-year-old girl from Bangladesh, suffering from a rare genetic condition, underwent a laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy, a procedure to trim the stomach, at Lifeline Group of Hospitals in Chennai recently.

At a press conference held on Saturday, Anirudh Rajkumar, advanced laparoscopic and bariatric surgeon at the hospital who led the procedure, said when Mayesha Siddika had come into the hospital, she weighed 68 kg and was 115 cm tall. “The weight had begun to impact her mobility, her breathing and her sleep. Our evaluation found that she had high blood pressure, new onset diabetes, and her liver function values were evaluated,” he said.

The reason for the weight gain, which accelerated over the past two years, was because Mayesha has Prader-Willi Syndrome — a condition affecting metabolism, which causes a sensation of being hungry all the time and not feeling full even after meals — leading to obesity.

Following a comprehensive evaluation and consultations with multiple medical teams, doctors decided to perform a laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy to treat the child’s obesity. During the 35-minute procedure, about three-fourths of Mayesha’s stomach was trimmed, leaving an approximately 80 ml pouch, Dr. Anirudh said. Mayesha, who was then put on a liquid diet for two weeks, lost 8 kg.

Doctors are hopeful that with a careful diet and physiotherapy as well as sustained follow-up care, she may lose another 10 kg or 15 kg in the next six months or so.

Highlighting the health issues obesity can cause, J.S. Rajkumar, chairman and chief surgeon of the hospital, said that stemming the problem now with the surgery could go a long way towards giving Mayesha a healthier life.