PATRICK DEUEL presses his chest with his fingertips, smiles mischievously and makes an announcement worthy of a banner headline: he can feel his ribs.

A MAN who weighed about half a ton when he was admitted to a hospital was recovering yesterday from obesity surgery in Sioux Falls, Dakota, USA.

A man who weighed about half a ton when he was admitted to a hospital was recovering today after undergoing obesity surgery.

A man who once weighed half a ton is shedding the pounds on a life-saving diet at a South Dakota hospital.

An American, who once weighed more than half a ton, has lost 23 stone in hospital, with a goal of losing another 32 stone.