ORANGE : Man Recovering After Excess Skin Removal

A man who had excess skin trimmed from his body after a 400-pound weight loss was in good condition and making a steady recovery Monday, his doctor said.

Tommy McGruder, 35, had 60 pounds of loose skin removed Friday in a 19-hour operation at Chapman Medical Center.

The skin--enough to cover a 10-year-old child from head to toe--was sent to St. Christopher Children’s Hospital in Philadelphia for use in its burn unit or for research, Dr. Ronald Goldstein said.

McGruder remained in intensive care Monday but was likely to be moved to a regular room today and could be discharged from the hospital by the end of the week, Goldstein said.

“He’s very good,” said Goldstein. “He was taken off a ventilator [Sunday] and has been breathing on his own since then.

McGruder once weighed more than 800 pounds and nearly died of congestive heart failure and obesity before a diet center donated its services.

He lost 400 pounds in five months eating high-protein, low-fat and low-carbohydrate meals, but the loss was so rapid that his skin became loose and cumbersome.

Specialists volunteered to get rid of it, hoping to give him greater mobility.

After Friday’s surgery, McGruder weighs 340 pounds, Goldstein said. McGruder hopes to lose as much as 200 more pounds. If he does, doctors will have to remove even more loose skin, Goldstein said.