Abu Dhabi
Ever since her condition came to light, Eman Abdul Atti’s weight loss journey has been mired in controversy.
Details about her actual weight have been kept under wraps ever since her arrival in the UAE, and even in the event of her untimely demise, Burjeel Hospital’s medical director refused to reveal it.
“I will not disclose her weight,” Dr Nabeel Debouni told Gulf News.
But initial reports from Dr Mufazzal Lakdawala, bariatric surgeon at the Saifee Hospital in Mumbai where Abdul Atti underwent weight-loss surgery, suggested that the then-36-year-old Egyptian national weighed about 500 kilogrammes in February. The surgeon then went on to claim that the surgical procedures had helped Abdul Atti shed about 320 kilogrammes.
But this was disputed by Abdul Atti’s sister, Shaima Selim, who accompanied her throughout her treatment in India and the UAE. Prior to their arrival at Burjeel, Selim had told Gulf News that the medical team at Saifee had not really weighed Abdul Atti before her surgery, and could not therefore say with certainty that she weighed 500 kilogrammes.
If her sister had indeed lost 300 kilogrammes in a month’s time, she would have been able to sit up in bed unassisted, Selim had added.
As it happened, Abdul Atti underwent a bed-to-bed transfer from Mumbai to Burjeel Hospital aboard an EgyptAir Boeing cargo aircraft.
In the UAE, doctors at Burjeel and its parent company, VPS Healthcare, called upon residents and press to respect Abdul Atti’s privacy. Though she was weighed, the details were never made public, despite persistent press queries. Selim had told Gulf News in May that she was grateful for the way in which the UAE was respecting her sister’s privacy, a fact that was later echoed by the family in a statement sent by the hospital.
In July, Dr Yassin El Shahat, chief medical officer at Burjeel Hospital, revealed that Abdul Atti had lost 65 kilogrammes by then.
