A Saudi medical team was able to surgically remove 20 kilograms (44 pounds) of weight from a young girl with a rare disease.

Five-year-old Safia, who suffers from Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS) successfully shed the pounds without any problems. Hamed al-Oudaani supervised the procedure.

Safia weighed in at 85 kilograms (187 pound) because of her rare disease, which causes a chronic hunger that cannot be satisfied. PWS leads to obesity among other complications like intellectual impairment, learning disabilities and mood swings. This constant state of hunger usually starts occurring around 2 years of age. To learn more about Prader-Willi syndrome, click here.

“After a three-month follow-up, the failure of the usual treatments, and the continued weight gain, and breathing difficulties, during sleep, we performed a gastric bypass surgery,” doctor hesham sulaiman said in an interview with al arabiya.

Dr. Hesham Sulaiman, is a consultant in PWS and head of anesthesia. He recognizes the dangers of giving anesthetics to people suffering with PWS because of their very unique and complex cases. Children with the disease pose a great challenge and run the risk of cardiac arrest during anesthesia before surgical interventions.

After she shed the weight from surgery, Safia commenced her long road toward a strict diet and rehab. Her behavior is reportedly improving, and she has begun eating less than she normally would. Children with PWS eat six times more than they should and Safia is now limited to 3 meals per day, with small snacks in between.

After losing the 20 kilograms (44 pounds) of weight in one month, she was finally able to walk on her own, free from the wheelchair.

If she continues on this healthy path, doctors are more than confident that she will continue to shed weight and live a healthier life.

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