'A new life': 176 kg Bulgarian patient regains health after liver transplant in Türkiye

By Mehmet Fatih Erdogdu

ISTANBUL (AA) - An overweight Bulgarian recently regained his health, thanks to doctors in Türkiye for a successful organ transplant.

Having diagnosed with cirrhosis 10 years ago due to heavy alcohol consumption and obesity, Yonko Georgiev Nikolov started gaining weight rapidly along with liver disease and inertness.

Bulgarian doctors told Nikolov, who weighed 176 kg, that he needed a liver transplant within the shortest time to cut the risk of dying, but they could not operate on him due to his excess weight.

Having sought a remedy for a long time, Nikolov was rejected by many health centers due to his risky situation. And that's when he consulted Dr. Murat Dayangac of the Medipol Mega University Hospital in Istanbul.

Nikolov was admitted to the facility on July 18 as his condition worsened, but he could not go under the knife yet.

With treatment applied to reduce edema in Nikolov’s body, he lost 30 kg in two weeks, after which he was operated successfully. His wife, Eli Kirilova Avriomova, was the liver donor.

"It was impossible to perform this operation in Bulgaria. I heard very positive things about Türkiye’s hospitals before. I learned these by experience," said Nikolov after the surgery.

"Before, I had trouble moving, getting out of bed, and even breathing. I knew I was running out of time ... approaching death.

"I never thought I could feel this good so soon after the surgery. I will continue to lose weight and begin a new life."

- Türkiye’s most overweight patient undergoing organ transplant

Prof. Dayangac said Nikolov became the most overweight patient who ever had an organ transplant in Türkiye.

"Obesity is one of the most important causes of liver cirrhosis today. When fatty liver due to malnutrition and obesity is accompanied by alcohol use, liver damage occurs much faster," Dayangac said.

He added: "When the patient came to us, he also had kidney dysfunction due to cirrhosis, which made the treatment even more difficult. So the situation was very complex, but he responded very well to the treatment."

Dayangac said before the surgery Nikolov’s body mass index was 61, and they managed to reduce it to 51 with the loss of 30 kg in two weeks.

"Even this is well above the body mass index limit generally accepted across the world," he stressed. "The body mass index of our heaviest patient to date was 42. We can say that Yonko is the most overweight patient who has ever been transplanted in Türkiye."