Back to Sweet Dreams

35-year-old Mr Shirhan S/O Omar Khtab had not been able to sleep well for many years. Tipping the scale at 150kg, Shirhan would get breathless if he slept on his back and would wake up frequently. He had to lie with his face down, propping his forehead with his hand. This left a dark patch on his forehead which bothered him. He also suffered from painful knees and ankles which ached when he walked for more than 10 minutes.

Shirhan tried all kinds of ways to lose weight from dieting to taking weight loss pills like Reductil prescribed by his GP. “I tried to lose weight by fasting. I would lose 4-5kg but when breaking fast, I tend to eat everything on the table again. After 1 to 2 weeks, I will give up. Pills worked for a while too but it never lasted,” said Shirhan.

Seeking a long term solution to his weight loss problems, Shirhan was referred to Dr T Ravintharan, CGH’s part-time Senior Consultant for General Surgery in early 2004. At 1.69m tall, Shirhan was considered morbidly obese with a Body Mass Index of 52.5 kg/m2, making him a suitable candidate for bariatric surgery or lapband surgery.

After going through a battery of tests, Shirhan had his lapband operation on 4 June 2004. He went on a liquid diet for 1 month before adjusting slowly to soft diet and eventually to normal food. His dietary habits changed drastically after the surgery. “I have to eat very slowly now and not at one sitting. I can get by with just one meal a day. I would buy a packet of rice and it will last me for breakfast and lunch. Dinner used to consist of 2 big bowls of rice with curry but now I usually just drink milk or Ensure.”

Since then, Shirhan had tightened his lapband 3 times and his weight down to just 75kg. His waistline also went down from 52 inches to 32 inches. It was therefore not surprising that his friends did not recognise Shirhan and walked past him when he met them on the streets. Going down to normal size also helped Shirhan save money as he could fit into local brands and no longer needed to buy designer wear which came in larger sizes. Shirhan no longer has any pain in his knees and ankles and can also walk for as long as he likes.

I could sleep on my back again
when my weight dropped to 90kg.
The patch on my forehead also
disappeared. With the lapband,
there is always something physically
holding me back when I want
to eat a lot, which is good,” said Shirhan."

For appointments to see our Lapband surgeons, please call CGH Appointment Centre at 6850 3333.

Lapband surgery is an adjustable and reversible surgery to treat obesity. It is performed laparoscopically by placing an inflatable band around the upper part of the stomach. The new, small upper stomach pouch and a narrow outlet limit the stomach capacity and increase the feeling of fullness. Once implanted, the band can be adjusted as its inner surface can be inflated or deflated with saline.