Obesity threatens 270kg Pakistani man’s life

Condition has caused a multitude of other problems, such as breathing, renal complications

KARACHI: Abdul Jabbar Tunio lay semi-unconscious and in extreme pain on a charpoy while his family and passers-by tried to transfer his bloated body from an ambulance to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre's (JPMC) intensive care unit.

The 39-year-old patient suffering from morbid obesity was brought from Larkana to the JPMC on Tuesday on the direction of Pakistan Peoples Party chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.

Jabbar's brother, Abdul Haleem Tunio, and his nephew stare at his body, lying in a bed in the ICU, with heavy hearts. "Jabbar has been unable to drink, eat or talk since the day he arrived at the hospital on Tuesday," Haleem told The Express Tribune with tearful eyes.

According to Haleem, Jabbar was the sole bread-earner for his family - he has three daughters, four sons and a wife. He used to sell vegetables in Waggan, a small town in Larkana district. However, for the past few months, Jabbar has been unable to walk or even move, said Haleem.

Wiping his tears with his sleeve, he said that for the past two months, the family had been making futile rounds at public sector hospitals in Larkana for Jabbar's treatment, after which the doctors there said he could only be treated at Aga Khan University Hospital in Karachi or abroad.



Jabbar maintained a healthy weight until he was 18 years old and broke his leg, explained Haleem. The family believes that the obesity was a side-effect of the medication he took then. The brother said that since then he gradually gained weight and in the last eight years there was a drastic increase in his body weight.

Jabbar weighs 270 kilogrammes and his case is said to be the first of its kind at any public sector hospital in Sindh, claimed the focal person of JPMC, Dr Javed Jamali. "Jabbar is suffering from a rare medical condition and is completely bedridden; he can't even move," he remarked. Dr Jamali added that due to his excessive weight, he is also suffering from multiple secondary complications. According to him, health minister Dr Sikandar Mandhro also visited the patient on Wednesday and directed the hospital administration to constitute a medical board for Jabbar's treatment.

Dr Jamali confirmed that a medical board has been constituted, comprising a general physician, general surgeon, nephrologist and chest physician to investigate the cause of the weight gain.

He added that they are currently facing complications in investigating the issue since they lack the facilities to take the patient for ultrasounds or X-rays. He said they do not even have a bed that can accommodate Jabbar. According to Dr Jamali, they have ordered a made-to-order bed and mattress for Jabbar.

"Right now, he is not stable but we are hopeful that he will recover," said Professor Rasheed Khan Durrani, the in-charge of ward six, where Jabbar has been admitted. According to Prof Durrani, Jabbar is facing severe breathing problem, renal complications and skin ulcers, which have left him completely bedridden. We are trying hard to stabilise the patient, he remarked. He explained that ultimately Jabbar will have to have a bariatric surgery, in which the size of the stomach or intestine will be reduced to induce weight loss. We are trying to ascertain the cause of the weight gain so that we can further proceed with his treatment, added Prof Durrani.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 2^nd, 2016.