A two-year-old girl who weighed 45 kg has undergone successful bariatric surgery and is recovering well, said a private hospital in the city. Normally, a child of that age weighs around 12-15 kg.
The two-year-old had a Body Mass Index of 41.5 — normal BMI is between 23.5 to 25.
“The child was normal at the time of birth and weighed 2.5 kg. However, she started gaining weight rapidly soon after birth and weighed 14 kg at six months. She reached 45 kg at two years and three months,” said Manpreet Sethi, consultant, paediatric endocrinology, at Max Hospital.
He said the child’s condition had worsened to the point where she had trouble breathing and was unable to sleep on her back. She was wheelchair-bound for six months before the surgery.
“We finally decided to go ahead with the bariatric surgery as it seemed the only way to save her life,” Dr. Sethi said, adding that the child is undergoing rehabilitation.
