Atul Gawande uses his experiences as a surgical resident to write his article “The Man Who Couldn’t Stop Eating” in the July 9th, 2001 issue of the New Yorker. In this article, he discusses the power of appetite, using a balance between emotional experiences—specifically those of Vincent Caselli—and medical studies, to ultimately educate the public about the costs and benefits of gastric bypass surgery. Before delving into the complexities of the gastric bypass operation, Gawande introduces the story of Vincent Caselli, a man who underwent the procedure after a lifetime of struggling with obesity and his appetite. Gawande informs the readers of Caselli’s development into adulthood specifically showing the effect obesity had on Caselli’s socialization. Gawande mentions how obesity changed Caselli’s health—halting his ability to move, drive, and sleep—effectively stopping his capacity to work once he developed skin infections. Caselli told Gawande about his inability to feel satiated even after eating, which led to his condition. Gawande …show more content…
Gawande finds that after the surgery, people are filled with a newfound confidence from their extreme weight-loss. Furthermore, he maintains that the operation is the sole current procedure that is effective, particularly as most patients do not gain back much weight. By the last time Gawande say Caselli, he had lost significant amounts of weight due to food losing its appeal in his eyes. In fact, malnutrition is more of a risk. However, like in everything, there are exceptions. Gawande made the acquaintance of a man who regained all his weight after the surgery, exemplifying the problem of uncertainty with the procedure. Magnifying the doubt, gastric bypass is not found to reduce mortality and many of the so called professionals are not properly trained to perform the