Search Here

A new case report revealed today that a two and a half year old boy from Saudi Arabia received surgery to help control his obesity. He is now the youngest boy to ever receive this kind of surgery. The previous case was a five-year-old boy also from Saudi Arabia. Based from the report, the unidentified boy weighed in at 73 pounds and had a body mass index (BMI) of 41, which categorizes the boy as morbidly obese.

The boy had started developing symptoms of sleep apnea most likely due to his weight issue. After doctors conducted tests to check to see if genes or heredity caused the extreme case of obesity, the doctors decided that the best option for the toddler was surgery. The young boy underwent laparoscopic sleeve gastrostomy. The three doctors involved with the procedure were Mohammed Al Mohaidlya, Ahmed Sulimana and Horia Malawib. This procedure reduces the size of the stomach by 75 percent and is irreversible. There were no complications during the surgery.

The case report concluded that the surgery was successful. After two months, the toddler had fewer sleep apnea symptoms. The toddler was able to lose 51 pounds two-years post surgery. His BMI has finally reduced to 24.

According to the case report, the boy was born at the healthy weight of six pounds and six ounces. Within six months, his weight jumped to 21 pounds. At 14 months, his weight spiked to 47 pounds with a BMI of 29. At this point, his parents had placed him on a strict diet and medications but had no success. He was taken to the Prince Sultan Military Medical City, which is an obesity clinic. After observing that dieting was not effective, the surgery was done.

The case report suggests that this type of weight-reduction surgery could be safe for young children. The case report can be found here.