Fri, May 15, 2026 page2

• Former weightlifter dies after weight loss surgery complications

  • By Hsu Li-chuan and Hollie Younger / Staff reporter, with staff writer
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  Dachang Hospital today confirmed that a 53-year-old woman in Kaohsiung died last month following complications from a mini gastric bypass surgery, saying it would cooperate with an investigation into potential medical malpractice.

  Surgeon Sung Tian-chou (宋天洲) treated the woman on April 21, although she sustained damage to major arteries during trocar insertion before the bypass began, the hospital under the E-Da Healthcare Group said.

  She died three days later due to complications, including multiple organ failure, it added.

  

  E-Da Dachang Hospital in Kaohsiung is pictured in an undated photograph.

  Photo: Taipei Times

  The former national weightlifer, surnamed Shen (沈), undertook the operation to look her best for her daughter’s college graduation, the daughter said on social media.

  She also wanted to be able to run around with her students, as she was a physical education teacher at a junior-high school in Chiayi, she said.

  She said her mother complied with all the prerequisite health checks and was told by Sung that the operation was “very safe.”

  Despite weighing 158.8kg at 158cm tall, Shen was otherwise in good health, Shen’s brother said.

  In the past six months, she had a fall that restricted her movement, he said, adding that she took a leave of absence and was cared for at home by her mother.

  However, after their mother died recently, Shen was left to reflect on her own health and seek treatment for her weight, he said.

  Sung told Shen that she had to wait six months to qualify for National Health Insurance coverage, or would have to pay for the surgery out of pocket, the brother said.

  However, she believed that six months was too long to wait and paid NT$300,000 up front for the surgery, he added.

  Sung did not warn her that she was a high-risk patient and said the mini bypass was the safest surgery available, he added.

  The family would consult with the hospital and clinicians before deciding whether to file a lawsuit, he said.

  Sung in a social media post today said that the 165kg woman came to a clinic at Chiayi’s Yang Ming Hospital in early March seeking weight loss treatment, he said.

  Those with a BMI of more than 50 are considered morbidly obese and a high-risk group for cardiovascular issues and sleep apnea, with a surgical mortality risk of 0.1 percent and complication rate of 1 percent, he said.

  At her first consultation, Shen had no signs of endocrine dysfunction or mental health issues, he said.

  She returned at the end of March, when she decided to opt for the surgery, he said.

  After complications arose during surgery on April 21, Sung said he had agreed with the family to first stabilize her condition and opt for weight-loss injections instead of more surgeries in the future, although she died on the third day, he said.

  The hospital said it has established a task force to conduct an internal investigation and would cooperate with health and judicial authorities in their investigation.

  Sung has also been from clinical practice for three months, pending the results of the investigation, it added.
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