One of the feature stories on The Insider last night was a 500 pound teenager from the UK. Her self-esteem was non-existent, and at one point in the interview she said that she had never had a boyfriend because she is disgusting.

After much research and discussion with her family, she decided to proceed with a gastric surgery similar to lap-band ventura, where a portion of the stomach is sectioned off to retain a smaller amount of food. The surgery was risky, and there were complications, but it was successful.

When they followed up with the girl a few months after her surgery, she had lost 90 pounds and you could see in her face that she was much happier and that her self-esteem had improved. It’s really incredible how one brave decision and a surgical procedure saved her life.