Rochester, N.Y. - Without surgery, Don Linborg says he wouldn't be alive today.
The Livingston County man lost nearly 200 pounds since his 2010 gastric bypass surgery.
Linborg went from a size 7XL to an extra large.
"I had severe diabetes, type two diabetes, high blood pressure high cholesterol," Linborg said about his life before surgery. "I slept with a sleep apnea machine. I feel like I was on a crash course for dying at a very early age."
Linborg chose to have gastric bypass surgery.
A new study from Switzerland found you are more likely to lose weight quicker and achieve maximum weight loss after gastric bypass versus lap band surgery.
Local doctors have performed hundreds of gastric bypass surgeries.
"That study confirms what we've seen in our practice," said Dr. William O'Malley, a bariatric surgeon at Highland Hospital. "The gastric bypass is a superior weight loss for the average person but it is a more involved surgery."
The Swiss study also found that bypass surgery patients also had better results controlling their cholesterol and type 2 diabetes.
Linborg said his blood sugar changed for the better, even before he lost all his weight.
"It was definitley the best decision I've ever made. It was life changing. I feel 25 years younger."
