Obese man operated upon to breathe normally

"Munish weighed 180 kg, which made him suffer from a rare sleep disorder characterised by abnormal pauses in breathing or instances of abnormally low breathing during sleep," said Dr. Deep Goel, director, department of bariatric surgery, B.L.K. Memorial Hospital.

"He required an emergency admission as he was suffering from acute respiratory failure, due to prolonged sleep apnoeic spells. He was feeling lethargic and falling asleep, snoring loudly and suddenly paused breathing many times during the night," Goel said Tuesday.

According to doctors, Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is extremely common among obese people. Morbidly obese patients are at increased risk for developing overt respiratory failure.

Chadha, 33, had to undergo a weight reduction surgery.

"Sleep apnoea is a life threatening problem. Massive obesity is the underlying cause and is an absolute indication for weight loss surgery," Goel said.

Chadha was put on ventilator and a team of doctors performed a three-hour-long operation on him December 2012.

"We operated for three hours, which included stapling of the stomach (a restrictive operation for weight control) and a hole in his trachea (wind pipe) to help in breathing," Goel said.

"In two weeks, he lost 20 kg and started walking on his own, exercising and breathing normally," the doctor added.