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A 27-year-old mother of three died after weight-loss surgery at a Sharjah hospital, her family members said. Picture for illustrative purposes only Image Credit: Gulf News Archive

Sharjah: A 27-year-old mother of three died after weight-loss surgery at a Sharjah hospital, her family members said.

Samah Mustafa had been suffering from knee and back pain for two years. She consulted doctors at Al Qasimi Hospital and they advised her to lose weight.

Samah's mother said her daughter, who weighed 96 kilograms, was advised by doctors to reduce her weight through stomach surgery. "My daughter submitted to the surgery and 60 per cent of her stomach was cut out," she said.

Bleeding in her stomach

Complications reportedly set in and there was bleeding in her stomach. "Doctors had to again operate to control the situation," the mother said.

She added that her daughter had to be taken to Al Mafraq Hospital, but unfortunately it got worse. "My daughter could not eat or drink anything. She weighed 40 kilograms when she died,"

The family has accused doctors of negligence and said they will sue the hospital. Al Qasimi Hospital's administration has confirmed that the hospital carried out the surgery and followed up Samah's case from the beginning.

Dr Abdul Wahaid Mohammad Al Wahdawi, Deputy Technical Director at Al Qasimi Hospital, said Samah was advised about the side-effects of the surgey and she had accepted them.

"She had agreed to allow a French visiting doctor to do the operation. After a few days after the operation, she suffered some complications and had to be operated upon again. Al Qasimi Hospital arranged with Al Mafraq Hospital to transfer Samah there, he said.