267 kg man loses weight, steps out of home after 7 yrs

MUMBAI: For Mazgaon resident Suleman Virani, undergoing a cataract surgery on Thursday was no less than a Herculean task. The 42-year-old, who once weighed 267 kg, was housebound for over seven years due to his weight issues. Despite cataract, Virani could not seek medical help because he found it impossible to travel. Things came to such a pass that Virani lost vision in his right eye and has only 30% vision in the left.
Virani, who is unemployed, gets help from his sister and friends.According to him, obesity runs in the family, and he was the heaviest of the lot.
Finally, Virani underwent a gastric bypass at Jaslok Hospital seven months ago. The surgery helped him lose nearly 80 kg, enabling him to leave home for the first time in seven years. Last week, Virani approached ophthalmologist Dr Cyres Mehta for cataract treatment.
"When he approached us, he was blind in one eye and had deviated vision. We didn't think he could recover vision due to the severity of the cataract, but thankfully after the operation, he can see quite well,'' Dr Mehta said. Cataract due to obesity is quite common and often metabolic disorders due to obesity give rise to cataract, he added.
Virani was operated upon by Dr Mehta and his team on Thursday. "We used torsional phacoemulsification, which is a new technology. With this, it is much easier to pull out hard and hyper cataract,'' he said.
For Virani, recovering vision and losing weight has given him a new lease of life. He is scheduled to undergo another surgery to deal with the loose skin due to the massive weight loss.