'World's Fattest Man' to Have Weight-Loss Surgery

Sept. 5, 2006 — -- Manuel Uribe Garza, thought to be the world's fattest man, could soon undergo weight-loss surgery in Italy, according to a report from the Italian news service Ansa.

A mechanic from northern Mexico, Garza has weighed as much as 1,235 pounds but recently lost weight with the help of doctors.

Italian surgeon Giancarlo DeBernardinis told Agence France-Presse, "We will hold a meeting in the coming days to work out the details of the hospitalization and to prepare the operating theater and the appropriate surgical tools."

Uribe drew worldwide attention when he appeared on the Televisa television network in January.

For the past five years, Uribe has been bedridden. He keeps a television and a computer he uses to update his Web site near his iron bed.

"People think that I can eat a whole cow, but it's not just overeating, it's also a hormonal problem," Uribe said

Compiled from several news wire services.