SADI-S Weight-Loss Surgery Success Story: How One Man Lost 200 Pounds

It was time for a family talk. At 23, Andres Diaz was happy with his life: a great bank job, good friends and close family. Yet he was seriously overweight, and his parents, who’d been divorced for years, tag-teamed to find a solution.

While Diaz knew he was heavy — his mail-order clothes were sized as high as XXXXL — he’d had no idea just how oversized he was. “In my head, I didn’t think I looked that big. I hadn’t stepped on a scale for years,” he says. “And the last time I’d been to a doctor’s office, I was a child and it was a pediatrician.”

Diets and gym jags that had made no long-term difference for Diaz in the past, so he and his parents brainstormed different weight-loss options.

“My mom mentioned bariatric surgery,” he says. “I had never considered it for myself, but she knew people who’d gone through it and informed me about what the process would look like.”

Understanding Severe Obesity and Reaching a 57 BMI

Diaz started gaining weight at 10 or 11, about the time his folks split up. “I’d have the dinner my mom cooked, then go to a friend’s house and eat the dinner his mom cooked, too, even if I wasn’t hungry,” he recounts. “It made me feel good in the moment.”

Diaz’s parents and siblings have no obesity issues, yet his body continued expanding. As an adult, Diaz spent four years working at a restaurant full-time; the constant movement kept him from getting too large. Then he took a coveted desk job with a credit union, where he sits in front of a computer 40 work hours a week. He kept his longtime eating habits, bulking up on dinners like a fast-food fried chicken sandwich with a large order of fries, a large soda, a dozen chicken nuggets and an extra side of mac and cheese.

The big meals together with little movement led to the moment Diaz stepped onto a scale at the Orlando Health Weight Loss and Bariatric Surgery Institute: 432 pounds, it read. At 6’1”, that put his Body Mass Index at 57, on the high end of the Extreme Obesity category. With that knowledge, Diaz and his parents next stepped into the office of Dr. Muhammad Ghanem.

Thus began Diaz’s weight-loss journey. First, Dr. Ghanem asked a slew of questions about how Diaz grew so large and the methods he’d try to trim down. Then the seasoned bariatric surgeon spelled out all the surgical options, including the pros and cons of each. “He showed me pictures of what each surgery would look like, such as what part of the stomach would be cut out,” Diaz says.

“What do you think is best?” Diaz asked. Dr. Ghanem suggested the single anastomosis duodenal switch, also known as SADI-S. “So of course I did what he recommended,” Diaz says.

I hadn’t stepped on a scale for years. In my head, I didn’t think I looked that big.— Andres Diaz

SADI-S is one of the most involved weight-loss surgeries. Dr. Ghanem made Diaz’s stomach significantly smaller, plus bypassed part of the bowel. As a result, he can’t eat much at one time and can’t absorb all the calories he does eat.

“This is a good choice if you’re younger and want to lose a lot of weight and keep it off,” Dr. Ghanem explains. “Andres is a young man with his whole life ahead of him. SADI-S helps you lose up to 75 percent of your excess weight, and the risk of weight regain is much lower, too.”

It’s unusual for young men to volunteer for bariatric surgery, Dr. Ghanem says. “Most of our patients are women. Males tend to ignore the fact that they’re overweight until obesity affects their jobs or their ability to provide for their families.”

SADI-S Surgery Preparation, Recovery and Patient Support

Once he agreed to the surgery, Diaz got busy. He got the required medical checkups and lab work, which all showed no health issues. Two weeks before his November 2024 procedure, he started a pre-surgery diet of one low-calorie meal a day plus two protein shakes — and no alcohol.

“That was tough,” he admits. “I was starving.” Luckily, his boss had undergone bariatric surgery herself and joined the cheerleading team that also included his family and longtime friends.

Diaz’s first two months post-surgery were also rough. It was the holiday season, and his Puerto Rican and Colombian families celebrate with bountiful meals — which he could barely touch, as his diet at that time was extremely limited.

“I felt overwhelmed. At one point I left my job and was crying, and crying, and crying. I phoned a friend and said, ‘I think I had the surgery to please others, not for myself,’” Diaz says.

Kindness helped him through. For example, at a dinner party featuring lasagna, a friend made a healthy soup just for Diaz. In addition, he received texts reminding him to take his nutritional supplements and visits from friends willing to join him on daily walks. “It’s important to have a strong support system,” he says.

Long-Term Benefits and Life After SADI-S Weight-Loss Surgery

As a healthy, active 24-year-old, Diaz now has no regrets. “I think the surgery has helped me in many ways. I eat right now, and I can maintain the new weight. Dinner is chicken with vegetables and maybe a little rice here and there. If I have pasta, I add more protein.”

When not at work, Diaz might shop for off-the-rack clothes with his father, kick around a soccer ball with his younger siblings “and not feel crazy tired,” or join his friends on Universal Orlando thrill rides — an activity he’d been forced to forgo before.

Traveling has become a pleasure. Only seven months after the operation, on a plane to Puerto Rico, Diaz buckled the existing seat belt, with no extender … and tightened it. “I started crying over that,” he says. Upon arrival, his family members marveled at how much he had changed. “I was very happy. And now I’ve lost even more weight,” Diaz says.

Down to a slim 220 pounds, Diaz’s day-to-day life remains centered around work, family and friends, but he holds his head much higher. “I feel more confident, and my manager recently said she sees that confidence in the way I lead the team, in my work ethic and even in my social media posts.”

Dr. Ghanem has similar observations. “The SADI-S has worked amazingly well for him,” Dr. Ghanem says. “He has lost quite a bit of weight and he is thriving career-wise and health-wise.”