Man with grade-3 fatty liver cured by laparoscopic surgery

A 30-year-old person, who had developed grade-3 fatty liver and was almost likely to suffer from liver cirrhosis, successfully underwent the gastric sleeve surgery that cured his health disorder completely, doctors said here Wednesday.

Vinod was diagnosed with grade three fatty liver, a condition in which 66 percent of the liver gets affected and medicines do not have any positive effect. One of his friends had also died of the same condition at a very young age.

He consulted bariatric surgery expert Ashish Bhanot at the city based Nova hospitals who suggested he undergo gastric sleeve surgery, a procedure which makes the stomach smaller and helps people to lose weight.

However, Vinod's worsening diabetes liver functions, too, were a cause of concern.

A laparoscopic surgery was performed and Vinod started feeling the immediate positive effects of the surgery through which he was able to walk and move around in the hospital within 6 hours.

His blood sugar levels became normal the very next day after the surgery. He was allowed a liquid diet from the next day and was soon discharged.

The surgery also helped him lose weight and tests for diabetes and liver function also gave normal results within three months. The treatment improved his libido and brought his sex life, which had almost ended, back to normal.

Medcial experts have also said that bariatric surgery may not only lead to weight loss and better metabolic profiles, but also combat non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).

"Bariatric surgery has become life saving for many, as this procedure is linked to improvements in obesity-related conditions. We were building on that trend by looking at bariatric surgery's effect on NAFLD," said Ashish Bhanot, chief bariatric surgeon who performed the surgery.

"Weight loss surgery led to improvement or resolution of the condition in more than 90 percent of cases who are morbidly obese," he told IANS.