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Former World's Fattest Man Paul Mason Wants British Govt. To Remove His Fat Folds (VIDEO)

Paulmason

First Posted: 11/28/11 02:53 PM ET Updated: 11/28/11 02:55 PM ET

Some people have the weight of the world on them. Paul Mason has that and more.

Mason, a British citizen who once held the Guinness World Record for "World's Fattest Man" when he weighed nearly 980 pounds, had a gastric bypass operation last year that helped him get his weight down to a relatively svelte 420 pounds.

That operation alone cost British taxpayers nearly $47,000. Combined with other procedures, his medical bills are estimated at $1.5 million, according to Digital Journal.

Now Mason, who once averaged 20,000 calories a day, wants the National Health Service to pay for surgery that will remove the unslightly folds of flesh still hanging from his arms, legs and torso.

VIDEO: (Story Continues Below)

“It’s very frustrating. I just need a little bit more help," he told The Mirror. "I feel like I have been just left high and dry. I need this operation to be able to get my life back."

The operation could be done privately for around $3,510, about the cost of Mason's monthly food bill before the operation. However, officials say the operation is cosmetic and won't pay for their removal until Mason's weight stabilizes.

In addition to the health costs associated with Mason's obesity, British taxpayers have also had to bear the cost of housing him in jail. The former postal worker was sentenced for stealing from letters, according to the Daily Mail.

Moreover, Mason is suing the National Health Service for sending him to dietitians who merely told him to lose weight -- but didn't identify his problem as an eating disorder, the New York Daily News reported earlier this year.

San Diego-based plastic surgeon Dr. Barry Handler says that while skin contouring operations are common for morbidly obese people after gastric bypass surgery, they are not the best candidates for surgery.

"There are complications 50 percent of the time," he told HuffPost Weird News. "For a doctor, the challenge is more creative. Figuring out how to anchor the skin. It can be like sewing two sticks of butter."

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Some people have the weight of the world on them. Paul Mason has that and more. Mason, a British citizen who once held the Guinness World Record for "World's Fattest Man" when he weighed nearly 980...
Some people have the weight of the world on them. Paul Mason has that and more. Mason, a British citizen who once held the Guinness World Record for "World's Fattest Man" when he weighed nearly 980...
 
 
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Threepointturn
Jon Stewart watches Fox "news", so you don't have
11:05 AM on 01/01/2012
Must say it is interesting that we don't see these problems in poor countries that don't live in the land of excess/plenty. Yes, it is possible that they don't have tv coverage/shows that we do.
10:26 AM on 12/20/2011
what I want to know is if he was so big and most likely not able to get around well, who the heck was bringing him all that food.
If he does have surgery he could likely die from complications
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
nicko68
02:55 PM on 12/06/2011
They should tell you....to Leave!
likes2kayak
Freedom to the USA!
03:41 PM on 12/05/2011
Typical thinking! Lets make the gov't pay! Hey dude why can't you try to at least do this on your own without making the broke citizens of Britian pay for it!
02:13 PM on 12/05/2011
And this is what we can expect from Obamacare... repeal it!
01:10 PM on 12/05/2011
He should pay for it himself. It is not that much.. The guy was in jail and shouldn't be getting free cosmetic surgery. What a joke he is suing because someone did not tell him he had an eating disorder.
09:04 AM on 12/04/2011
For a doctor, the challenge is more creative. Figuring out how to anchor the skin. It can be like sewing two sticks of butter."

Truer words were never spoke....
This user has chosen to opt out of the Badges program
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02:02 AM on 12/04/2011
I don't see WHY he feels the need to sue the National Health Services for "sending him to dietitians who merely told him to lose weight -- but didn't identify his problem as an eating disorder"...I could have told him....or is that his way of raising the $$ for the skin contouring surgery??

GOSH...!! I sure wish I had read this BEFORE eating those peices of cheese caKe! Argh /=-P
This user has chosen to opt out of the Badges program
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02:05 AM on 12/04/2011
**pieces**
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studioh!
bridging the snarchasm
01:42 PM on 12/02/2011
joe da plumber has really put on the pounds!
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
nicko68
09:48 AM on 12/02/2011
Must be a LIB, looking for a handout.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
norby413
Don't Mess with the Pengiwolf...
06:45 PM on 12/03/2011
Naw. He's pasty white and obese...definitely a Tba.gger....
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
mneff07
Michelle
05:38 PM on 12/01/2011
I wil ltell you put his gut back together and let him eat himself to death, what a barff bag! does he really expect me to belive he didn't know he ate to much?
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
wmarylou10
03:26 PM on 12/01/2011
They have gone this far to help him, why not rid him of the loose skin. He will prob need it one more time when he loses the rest of his weight. Can u imagine what it must feel like to be freer than hes been in years. Thank goodness he got the stomach procedure. Given a little encouragement he could go on to help himself when all the surgeries are complete. Hope he gets the help soon. Best wishes to Mr. Mason.
10:15 PM on 12/25/2011
he stole from letters when he was a postal worker; such a fine upstanding person; no he should wait until the weight is off and then get a job and pay for his surgery; if he didn't have the control to stop overeating why should taxpayers help him out?? sorry to sound so abrasive but he is an adult and should be held accountable for his actions and not put it off on someone else to take care of his problem; really disgusted with his attitude as if the world owes him something
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HUFFPOST COMMUNITY MODERATOR
evilchihuahua
Crossing the line just because it's there.
01:36 PM on 12/01/2011
Those are the first 50 caliber granny slingshots I've ever seen.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Kathy Levittown
I love all animals better than most people!
01:41 PM on 12/01/2011
LOL!...STOP IT evilchihuahua!! lol..I'm rolling on the floor laughing at your comments and my cats are calling 911!...... ;-)
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HUFFPOST COMMUNITY MODERATOR
evilchihuahua
Crossing the line just because it's there.
06:54 PM on 12/01/2011
You've got some well trained pets there.
Now if they could only order Chinese. ;-D
10:59 AM on 12/01/2011
In Canada they will not pay for this surgery as it is cosmetic. Also no doctor will do it until you are at your goal weight for minimum 6 months but ideally 2 years. I lost 100 lbs and if I want to reconstruct anything, I am on my own. I was also on my own with my head in a potato chip bag so it is fitting in my opinion.
10:15 AM on 12/01/2011
Maximilian Dongsworth - you are almost as twisted as the gluttons