Congratulations on your approval! That's wonderful. I'm actually happy to see men posting here. From a female perspective, somehow its always been acceptable for a gent to be heavy, but a female at the same weight . . she let herself go. You know what I mean. I'm glad to see men actually standing up and saying "fat" isn't OK and I'm doing something about it. Good for you! Here's wishes for an uneventual surgery and a speedy recovery.