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via: the sun

The fattest man in the world has had a life-saving operation in the U.K. and lost more than 280 lbs., The Sun reported on Monday.

Paul Mason now weighs 685 lbs. – but is believed to still be the heaviest man on the planet.

The ex-postman, 48, spent the weekend in intensive care after undergoing complicated gastric bypass surgery.

Sources said he was recovering well and looking forward to losing more weight.

The operation involved making a small “pouch” by stapling off part of Paul’s stomach.

All his food will now go into the pouch, bypassing the rest of his stomach and severely restricting the amount he can eat.

Last week, doctors had put Paul on a crash diet to bring his weight down to a safe level before the operation could go ahead.

Some of his 280 lbs. weight loss would have come through fat being sucked out during surgery but the rest was down to Paul himself.

A National Health Service source said: “Paul is looking pretty well. He has lost a lot of weight but has a lot more to lose.

“He said he has been waiting eight years for the procedure, but now that he weighs around 49 stone it’s been worth the wait.

“He said his aim is to be able to get into a mobility wheelchair and eventually drive a car.

“Since the operation he’s been in very good spirits, chatting and joking with the doctors and nurses.”

Paul, from Ipswich, Suffolk, was driven 143 miles in an ambulance with reinforced beds to have his operation at the specialist St Richard’s Hospital in Chichester, West Sussex.