Dubai man 'gorges' on biryani before having stomach removed

Abbas is now cancer-free

Gastric cancer patient Ghulam Abbas "gorged" on a plate of chicken biryani as his "final meal" before having his stomach removed at Dubai's Rashid Hospital, Khaleej Times reported.

"I asked the doctor if I could have chicken biryani as my last meal before the surgery. My wife prepared it and my brother carried it to the hospital. I sort of gorged on it," Abbas, an engineer, said.



"After two months of chemotherapy at Dubai Hospital, his tumour shrunk in size, so we decided to go ahead with the surgery," consultant surgeon Omar Al-Marzouqi said.

"It's the most devastating decision and yet the answer was clear, I had to do whatever it look to save my life," Abbas said, adding he wanted to be there for his family. "I was not going to give up on my family and me. I just wanted to hold on to life."



The five-hour, minimally-invasive surgery was performed by Marzouqi and his team. Rashid Hospital Head of General Surgery Ali Khammas said the procedure was the first-of-its-kind in Dubai.

"We laparoscopically removed the total stomach and the lymphatic drainage system from the root. We then reconstructed the whole area in such a way that the small bowel (small intestine) functions as the stomach," Marzouqi said.

Abbas, who is now cancer-free, has been undergoing chemotherapy at Dubai Hospital as a preventive measure.

The engineer has to exercise great caution when it comes to his diet. He credits his wife on this account.

"The credit goes to my wife. She meticulously prepares small meals for me and I keep track of how often I need to eat. Post surgery, I was on watery liquids. I then moved to thick liquids. I will start consuming small spice-free meals soon."

This story originally appeared in Khaleej Times.