Consultant Laparoscopic & Bariatric Surgeon
Patient Stories
Dr Ahmed is clearly extremely knowledgeable and an amazing surgeon. All of my interactions with him made me feel extremely confident in my choice in choosing him and the Bupa Cromwell hospital.
I chose Mr Ahmed Ahmed specifically because my partner had similar surgery performed last year by him at the same hospital. I had seen Mr Ahmed’s approach and patient care and felt extremely confident that the outcome would be excellent.
Both Mr Ahmed and the anaesthetist (who’s name I sadly don’t have to hand) were able to put me in an excellent state of mind for the procedure as did all of the ward staff.”
I had gastric bypass surgery about 6 1/2 months ago and I have since lost nearly 6 1/2 stone. Has this surgery changed my life? I can honestly say that it hasn’t but that it has done even more – it has given be back my life! Prior to the operation I was having difficulty moving, bending and walking. Was out of breath if I walked up one flight of stairs couldn’t fit on train seats, got abused in the street…I was also on 3 medications for high blood pressure and I was told that I was cutting my life expectancy by 12 years.
I don’t know whether I didn’t realise how much the weight was affecting me, as I had put on the weight slowly, or if I didn’t want to admit this to myself but I didn’t fully realise how much it was affecting me until I began to lose the weight. The surgery has given me a tool to get a new life and I am having an exciting time planning all the things that we are going to do. Yes some days are hard and sometimes it can be very difficult to make the right food choices but I know, that with the on going support of the weight loss team, I will continue to be successful and get fitter and more healthy. I am now off the blood pressure meds, have so much more energy, am not short of breath and move much more easily. I can now sit on train seats without the looks and I haven’t had abuse shouted at me for weeks. I did this for my health, not my looks, but having gone from a size 26 to size 14 jeans…it’s a nice side effect. Have I ever regretted having the surgery? Not even when I felt ill in the first few weeks after. I would recommend the surgery to anyone else in my position but It is a major operation, with risks, and you need to work at it afterwards so you need to think about it seriously and know what you are getting into. Talk to this team, they are great at what they do, very supportive, and will help you make the right decision for you.
~ C.G. – lap gastric bypass
“My name is Naqib Yahya and I had a gastric band done in Cromwell hospital, sounds quite clear and simple but however if you or a loved is going through as to what I have been through before I had the gastric band done then you will know how big and vicious cycle it can be without having an end at sight.
I used to weight 150 kg before the procedure, no one can even imagine what it means to be that overweight, every time you look at yourself in the mirror you see this hidious, unrecogniseable person. then you relised you are just staring at yourself in the mirror. I am not a doctor but even I can tell you, that you face a big list of diseases if something is not done about it rapidly from strokes to heart attacks.
I knew I had a probem but I did not knew how to cope with until my brother suggested that I had gastric procedure done to which i agreed but the problem remained as to where should I get it done. all of my friends were helping me in my research and places were recommended such as india, eastern europe and even u.s.a but when it can be question of life and death if the procedure is not carried out properly, money is the last thing on your mind. eventually my research led me to Mr ahmed and his team at cromwell but I wasn’t still sure, so I decided to have a look at their website and once I was satistified I decided to make an appoint to see Mr ahmed where he explained all the different options available to me and the pros and cons of every procedure. I dicussed it with my family and decided to go for the gastric band which was best suited to my needs.
Am I glad I had it done? Every second of my life, the only regret I have is I should have had it done a long time ago. without any major excercise routine I have lost 28 kgs so far. my waistline is gone down, my old clothes are very loose and I feel very lively now compare to before. I have more energy now, I feel like going for walks now as to before where I would take my car even if I wanted to buy a newspaper. I know I still have a bit to go but I am on my way there. if anyone is thinking about getting done, get it done it will be worth every penny and when you have a specialist team like Mr Ahmed’s, Dr cousins and even the specialist nurse Karen you got nothing to worry about because the treatment I got from Mr Ahmed and all of his team can’t be matched by any one and I am sure of it.”
~ N.Y. – lap gastric band
“One year later, I have lost 35 kilos, dropped from size 22 to size 12, definitely not pre-diabetic, have lots of energy and am full of confidence!
Let me roll back to January 2009, I was at my lowest, visiting my GP with a plethora of woes, I was feeling tired, had no energy, pre-diabetic. My GP was constantly telling me to lose weight before things got direr. But how could I? I had put on far too much weight and my will power was zero.
I spent time of the internet looking for plausible solution; I needed a safe medical method. I came across various gastric solutions, medical solutions not cosmetic which were safe and resolve medical problems. What interested me was many people after surgery had no more diabetes and other related illnesses. The gastric surgery solution is NOT a cosmetic solution; it is a medical solution is therefore important to have the surgery done by professional gastric surgeons.
I believe I was blessed and extremely lucky to find Mr. Ahmed, Dr Cousins and their team, this is a team of extremely professional doctors who are the cutting edge of gastric/weight loss surgery. What made me really comfortable to be with them is the time they had for me. They are available at all time to discuss the procedure. No question was too stupid, too silly or too infantile for them.
After several consultations and numerous phone calls, we all decided that the sleeve gastric surgery would be best for me.
The day of surgery, the team came to re-assure me. The operation went well and recovery was good, the rate of recovery is definitely dependent on following the instructions. And why won’t I? The post op instructions was making loose me loose 2 kgs a week. I could not believe that I never experienced any hunger pangs and would have to force myself to eat. (I add that one year later I am still never hungry). If you don’t eat please drink and drink!
Since the operation, life is good, medically, professionally and personally. Let’s be honest big people are negatively judged before they even open mouths. It’s the best investment I have ever made
If you are seriously overweight, see the gastric professionals, talk with them and change your life!, Without doubt, Mr. Ahmed and his team are serious professionals and know their business talk to them and it will be the best chat of your life!
Now I can swanked into any shop in world and get my size!
I have not be paid to write this testimonial, I offered to do so because I know there are people who are like me (one year ago)”
~ P.D. – lap sleeve gastrectomy
They say that life begins at forty but as I approached that special birthday in August 2009, my future appeared very bleak indeed.
After a lifetime of dieting, losing weight and then re-gaining it in spades, I’d somehow ended up at 5ft 2” weighing in at an all time high of 31 stone. Like many, I covered up my desperate unhappiness with a bubbly personality and a beaming smile but there was no hiding from the ever-growing list of problems my weight was causing. Terrible pain in my back and knees meant that I was no longer able to stand for more than a few minutes and walking had become so painful and difficult that I rarely ever left the safety of my own home. Climbing the stairs had become impossible and I was reduced to sleeping downstairs on the sofa. Well, I say ‘sleeping’ but in reality I was lucky if I managed to get more than 2 hours sleep a night – breathing difficulties and snoring so embarrassingly loud it woke me up meant that I was permanently exhausted. Too fat to fit behind the wheel of my car, I was unable to drive. Housebound, tired and miserable, I wasn’t living any kind of life at all – I was merely existing.
I’d seen TV shows about weight loss surgery and I’d spent hours clicking through the internet to learn more about the various different kinds available. I read enviously about people who had lost huge amounts of weight and even better, had managed to keep it off. I was very tempted. If I’m honest though, I was also a bit scared. I knew that any kind of operation at my size would have its risks, but that wasn’t really what was worrying me. How on earth would I be able to live the rest of my life never being able to eat a proper sized meal again? For all the horrible things my love of food had done to me, the thought of having to say goodbye to generous portions for good was difficult to imagine. Food was my comfort and my friend – but it was also my biggest enemy and my downfall. And so it was on that milestone birthday that I made a big decision. I needed to lose the weight permanently and get back to living a normal life and so the special present I was going to mark my birthday with was a Sleeve Gastrectomy.
After a lot of online research, and recommendations from friends in the medical profession, we reassuringly arrived at the same answer. Mr Ahmed had a stellar reputation and was the perfect choice for my op. I was very nervous about meeting him for my first consultation and I was concerned that I might be too overweight to have the surgery. I needn’t have worried though as he put me at ease right away and two months later I’d had the operation, spent only two nights in hospital and everything had gone very smoothly.
So five months on, what is life like when you can eat only small portions of food? Well although this was my major concern, it’s been the biggest revelation of the whole experience. I no longer have much appetite and I frequently have to remind myself to eat! I never would have thought that would be me in a million years – it’s only skinny people that forget to eat isn’t it? Food never used to be far from my mind before I had the surgery, but now it’s just not something I think about. It’s like a huge burden has been lifted from my shoulders. There are no types of food that I can’t manage and it takes such a small amount to make me feel totally full up that I never feel deprived or even hungry. As a consequence the weight has just been falling off. I’m already ten and a half stone lighter and still losing. Better still, I can now walk and climb the stairs again, drive my car, sleep in my own bed and actually get a straight seven hours rest for the first time in years. I’ve got so much more bounce and energy that everyone around me is astounded by the change. I can even now do some exercise and I’m getting fitter and stronger by the day. It was the best birthday present I could ever have wished for and thanks to Mr Ahmed and his team, it really is true what they say – life has begun at forty and bar a massive lottery win, I couldn’t be happier!
~ S.R. – lap sleeve gastrectomy
Before the surgery:
I use to eat over 5 heavy meals a day including 5 fizzy drinks and lots of chocolates and crisps. I realized that I am gaining lots of weight and it will be risky to continue this way so I have decided to go and see Mr Ahmed at Cromwell Hospital. It took me 6 weeks to finalize that dates of the surgery and also to do a special diet to lose some weight before doing the surgery.
1st week of the surgery:
Very good treatment from the staff of the hospital and the surgery went very well but the most important thing that you have to follow what you are asked to do such as walking after the surgery and not to eat food only water and liquid for the 1st week.
Ongoing after the surgery:
Stopped most of the bad habits and I have followed what I have been asked to do and as I result of that I lost over 38% of my weight within the 1st six months. I have ben given a new life and feel absolutely wonderful. I would recommend the surgery by Mr Ahmed wholeheartedly.
~ A.S. – lap gastric bypass
At his heaviest, Michael Tyrrell, 64, a father of two from Purley, weighed 156 kilos (24.5 stone) and had a dangerously high body mass index (BMI) of 51
He found it difficult to walk, suffered from various health problems, including high blood pressure ,taking medication to control and sleep apnoea, a potentially life threatening sleep disorder.
He started to have problems with his knees in 2009 and had an operation on his right knee, but without any noticeable improvement. He had Osteoarthritis in both knees and then he started to have pains in the right hip area in 2011.
He was referred to a specialist at the Cromwell Hospital and was told that the Osteoarthritis was in the hip, but that he would have to lose weight.
Michael approached his doctor, who referred him to specialist bariatric (weight loss) surgeon Mr Ahmed Ahmed at Cromwell Hospital.
After assessing Michael, Mr Ahmed Ahmed recommended that a gastric bypass would be the best weight loss surgery procedure for him. The operation, which he funded himself, was subsequently carried out in June 2012 by Mr Ahmed Ahmed.
“The surgery went well and since the operation, I’ve lost over 49 kilos (seven stone) in nine months, gone from a size 5XL to an XL and am still losing weight. I feel 100% better.”
According to Mr Ahmed Ahmed, Michael has done ‘fantastically well’. “Michael has made amazing progress,” he said. He is far happier and his sleep apnoea has gone, he is not taking any Blood Pressure Medication and he is able to walk better and take more exercise.
These days Michael is also healthier and much more active.
“If I hadn’t had the surgery, I probably wouldn’t be here today. I hated the way I was before. I was so depressed – my weight really got me down. But weight loss surgery has transformed my life. I’ve got my confidence back – I can do so much more. I’m a totally different person. I feel happy again. It’s absolutely brilliant.”
~ M.T. – lap gastric bypass
What can I say? Mr. Ahmed has saved my life. He was so kind and knowledgeable. My procedure could not havegone any better. He is second to none.
Dr Ahmed responded to pre-surgery inquiries and post-surgery questions by me within the hour always helpful and precise in his explanations. He is professional and thoughtful a rare combination. His expertise is the reason I came to Cromwell for my surgery and I would recommend him without hesitation.
From I met Mr Ahmed at my first consultation I was sure I wanted him to carry out my operation. He explained in great detail how the operation is done. He was more than willing to answer all my questions so that I was satisfied I knew I wanted the operation. His manner in hospital was reassuring and I had no doubt I was in very safe hands.
Great swift overnight stay. Dr Ahmed and his team did a fantastic job of looking after me. Had a Linx device implanted everything was explained to me and made me feel reassured.
