FORMER world’s heaviest man Paul Mason has heaped praise on medics at Ipswich Hospital – for saving his life.

Mr Mason – who once tipped the scales at 70 stone – hit out at the health service in the past for his treatment in the months after doctors inserted a gastric band to help him shed weight.

But today he praised Ipswich Hospital after he was admitted with complications following his gastric band surgery, which was carried out more than two years ago.

After being admitted on a ward, a CT scan revealed that pipe work to the new stomach had disintegrated inside Mr Mason’s body.

While recovering from his second major operation at his home in east Ipswich, Mr Mason told The Star he was grateful to the Heath Road trust for carrying out the procedure which ultimately saved his life.

“My time in there (in Ipswich Hospital) was okay but I’m still recovering now because it was such major surgery.

“I still have an open wound and a scar which stretches down my body and I still maintain that I shouldn’t have needed this second operation if I had received the aftercare I needed. But I have to say that Ipswich Hospital have saved my life.

“They could have sent me to Chichester Hospital (where the original operation was carried out) and I probably wouldn’t have survived the journey.

“If it wasn’t for Ipswich Hospital and the fact the hospital is on my doorstep then it could have been a very different story.

“It was a big operation to do and they did it. I am grateful.”

The dramatic weight loss left Mr Mason with folds of excess skin around his stomach, arms and legs.

Since then, he has been appealing to NHS Suffolk to carry out three further operations to remove the skin, which weighs around six stone.

“I am doing my part in getting my weight down and they (NHS Suffolk) now need to do their part and remove the excess skin,” he said.

“It is stopping me from being able to get on with my life.”

A spokesman for NHS Suffolk previously said Mr Mason would have to remain at a steady weight before they would carry out any further operations.

n What’s your view on Paul Mason’s story? Write to Your Letters, Ipswich Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN, or send an e-mail to starletters@archant.co.uk