Abu Dhabi: Kamal Qureshi had been trudging through life with a massive hernia that had left nearly 60 per cent of his abdominal contents hanging outside the abdominal cavity.
Suffering from persistent backache and discomfort, the 58-year-old administration executive from Pakistan had been unable to find surgeons who were willing to operate on the hernia, which measured a whopping 20 centimetres by 25 centimetres.
A surgery undertaken in the capital last year finally proved successful, and Qureshi has finally been able to ‘get his life back’.
“I had approached doctors abroad but they refused to perform the procedure because they said I was a high-risk patient. But the discomfort and pain was getting intolerable, and I am so glad it has finally been taken care of,” Qureshi told Gulf News.
Qureshi had initially developed a hernia at the site of an incision made for a 2003 cardiac bypass procedure. A hernia occurs when the contents of a bodily cavity, including organs and tissues, abnormally protrude from it, and an incisional hernia occurs at the site of an incompletely healed surgical wound.
Although Qureshi’s first hernia was repaired, it reappeared once more two years later, necessitating another surgery.
After a few more years, the hernia occurred again for a third time, and when Qureshi mentioned it during the surgical repair of a blocked cardiac vessel, doctors abroad said he needed to lose at least 15kg of weight before they could operate on the hernia.
“I was unable to lose the weight and the hernia kept growing for about seven years. I began suffering from backache as a result, and I was unable to move easily or even find clothing to fit me,” Qureshi explained.
A team of doctors from NMC Healthcare finally undertook a surgery to correct the hernia, placing a 50 centimetre by 25 centimetre wire mesh under the abdominal muscle to ensure that the hernia does not recur, said Dr Ananth Pai, specialist surgeon at NMC Speciality Hospital.
“The surgery was high risk mainly because the patient’s heart function was only about 40 per cent. Still, we put him on a strict diet that allowed him to reduce 10 kilograms, thus also reducing the abdominal fat and making the hernia easier to correct,” the doctor explained.
Following his discharge, Qureshi has been able to resume his normal activities with ease.
“I was forced to wear trousers with a 48-inch waistband due to the hernia. Now, my waist size is down to 40 inches and I feel so much better,” a relieved Qureshi said.
