After more than 10 years, 33-year-old movie buff Manish Bharvesh can now watch films in threatres. Bharvesh, a resident of Bhopal, had weighed 260 kg three years ago and could barely manage to fit into the seats in theatres. But now, after shedding 150 kg with sleeve gastrectomy, he is happy that he can revive his passion for movies.

“The last movie I saw in the theatre was Bade Miyan Chote Miyan,” recollects Bharvesh, a chartered accountant.

People like Bharvesh are classic examples to those who are desperate to lose weight. He was not born obese, but slowly he began to gain weight. Bharvesh tried his hand at many treatment options to lose weight. He went to gyms, yoga classes and even tried some weight reduction tablets and herbal meal replacements, but all with disappointing results.

“When he first came to us, he had breathing problems and his legs were swollen. His Insulin levels raised, liver enzymes deranged and lipid levels increased. Moreover, he had impaired pulmonary functions and had a fatty liver on USG,” said Dr Shashank Shah Laparo-Obeso Centre in Pune. Even though the surgery— sleeve gastrectomy — is routinely performed on obese patients. It is the post operative care that helped him lose weight drastically.

He was operated upon three years ago. “A special OT table and special long laparoscopic instruments had to be ordered for him because his abdomen was around three-quarters of a foot deep. His operative and post-operative period was uneventful. We would have needed 12-13 people to lift him from the OT table. We had to give him a special dose of anaesthesia so that he could be woken up and made him shift on his own. He was kept under observation only for 48 hours where he did not require any intervention. Eight days after the surgery he could go his home in Bhopal,” said Dr Shah. He added, “By now, Manish has lost 150 kgs making him the biggest loser in the country reported anywhere.”

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