A 52-year-old woman weighing 200 kg, who underwent a six-hour lifesaving bariatric surgery at a hospital has lost 30 kg and is currently recuperating well, the hospital said on Wednesday.

It took almost five hours for a team of six doctors to complete the challenging operation and doctors from pulmonology, cardiology, endocrinology and anaesthesia ensured that the surgery went off smoothly in December last year. Dr Randeep Wadhawan, Director, Bariatric and GI Surgery at Fortis Hospital located in Vasant Kunj, told reporters that specialised operation tables and equipment had to be arranged in the hospital.

"Reaching the point of incursion under the layers of fat was a challenge. Besides, the time management was essential as the anaesthetic administered to the patient was the same that would have been administered to a lean patient," he said. A resident of Delhi, the patient was facing difficulty in walking and breathing. "Her body mass index that normally should be less than 30 was above 75, which is huge," said Wadhawan.

She also had hypertension, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and diabetes mellitus besides depression due to her health issues, the doctor said. "I had lost hope. Every time I tried to lose weight by starting radical lifestyle changes, I used to gain more weight. I was in pain physically and emotionally and I hardly used to socialise," the woman said.

"I am feeling motivated now to lose 100 kgs as assured by the doctors, but it will take me nearly 18 months," she added. There were 650 million adults who were found obese worldwide, while more than 1.9 billion people were found overweight, as per a World Health Organisation (2016) report. According to the World Obesity Federation 2017 data, the obesity level in India is set to jump to around 5 per cent from 3.7 per cent by 2025.