Gastric Bypass Surgery Patient Stories

In 2010, when Kristen Hugus of Castle Shannon, Pa., enrolled in a UPMC research study that led to her undergoing gastric bypass surgery, she was 36, at her highest weight, and had been a patient diagnosed with type 2 diabetes since 2001.

Read Kristen Hugus's story

For Ken Schnur, a married father of two from Munhall, choosing to have gastric bypass surgery at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital was a life-changing — probably life-saving — decision. His job as an emergency dispatcher, which involved shift work and long hours sitting behind a desk taking calls, had taken its toll.

Read Ken Schnur's story

Weight was never a big deal to Nicole Seal, a Monongahela native. At 5 feet, 7 inches, she was accustomed to the scale hovering between 215 and 230 pounds. Then she took a job in a personal care home working odd hours and night shifts. The weight started piling on.

Read Nicole Seal's story