30 stone child undergoes surgery after 'eating himself to near-death'

11-year-old Arya Permana from Karawang in West Java, Indonesia, has undergone surgery to save his life after his weight rose to 192kg, or approximately 30 stone.

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His ballooning weight had left him unable to walk, forcing him to stop attending school. He had taken to wearing a sarong after his parents, Ade and Rokayah Soemantri, were no longer able to find clothes that fit him.



Arya Permana at home being washed by his mother Rokayah Soemantri in Karawang, West Java, Indonesia CREDIT: BARCROFT

His weight was also posing a serious threat to his health: he frequently experienced shortness of breath, and slept with his head lent against a wall to help him breath, leaving him with a permanently bruised forehead.

After years of over-feeding Arya, his parents were finally convinced their young son needed professional help - and he has now the youngest person to ever undergo a gastric sleeve operation, lasting five hours.



Arya Permana at a waterpark in Karawang, West Java, Indonesia. CREDIT: CHANNEL 5 / BARCROFT PRODUCTIONS

According to 2016 media reports, Arya would eat five large meals a day – although his mother, Rokayah, told reporters she had been left “confused” after a doctor declared Arya was “healthy” during a hospital check-up.

She also said she’d been told there were “no problems” with her son’s health, and that she’d been unable to get a clear answer when trying to determine a reason for Arya’s recent weight gain.



Arya Permana is examined by a team of doctors at the Dr Hasan Sadikin General Hospital in Kota Bandung, Indonesia. CREDIT: JEFTA IMAGES / BARCROFT IMAGES

A new documentary telling Arya's story, World's Heaviest Child: Extraordinary People, will be screened on Channel 5 at 10pm on Thursday 1st June.