Half ton man undergoes obesity surgery

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

Patrick Deuel, 42, underwent the procedure to reduce the size of his stomach four months after weighing more than 76 stones when he was admitted to hospital.

He had been bedridden since last autumn and was malnourished because so many of his calories came from foods high in fat and carbohydrates.

Deuel had difficulty breathing and suffered from high blood pressure and diabetes linked to obesity – conditions that his doctor said were killing him.

Gastric bypass surgery was thought to be his best chance for permanent weight loss, but doctors in Sioux Falls, Dakota, said Deuel needed to lose some weight first, to gain enough strength so he could walk on his own and prove he was healthy enough to survive the surgery.

Before going into surgery on Tuesday, Deuel had lost 30 stones. He said his diabetes and high-blood pressure were under control and credited the results to a 1,200-calorie-a-day diet and exercise.

Caregivers and others are starting to take notice of the changes, he said.

“Every time I move, they don’t look at me like, ’My God, he is going to fall down or something,”’ he said.

Last month, Deuel took his first steps with the help of nurses and two walkers for support. More recently, he has been walking up stairs and even swimming at the hospital’s pool.

Gastric bypass is the most common obesity surgery in the United States. The operation involves creating a pouch in the upper stomach and attaching it to a section of intestine, reducing the amount of food patients can eat.

Deuel, a former restaurant manager, is just under six feet tall and has always fought his weight. He weighed more than six stones in kindergarten and more than 17 stones in middle school.