Our Patients

Sally Morgan's life

Almost a quarter of adults (24% of men and 25% of women*) in England are so overweight as to be classified clinically as "obese". Such a degree of overweight is an important risk factor for several chronic diseases: first and foremost Type 2 Diabetes, but also heart disease, stroke and some cancers.

During the 14 years that the team at St Anthony's Hospital, Cheam, Surrey, have been pioneers in weight loss surgery, it has helped patients in weight loss and recovery of health.

Alberic Fiennes, a leading bariatric surgeon at St Anthony's Hospital, says:

"People who are so overweight as to meet professional guidelines for weight-loss surgery nearly always seem to suffer from a disease state which very effectively prevents them losing weight independently themselves. Many have struggled fruitlessly for years in the understandable but mistaken belief that it's a matter of will-power."

As one of the leading providers of bariatric care, St Anthony's finds the best treatment option for each patient.

When Sally Morgan, celebrity psychic, came to see Alberic Fiennes at St Anthony's Hospital, she was 23 stone. At 5ft tall, she was treble her ideal body weight. She had tried everything including diet pills, injections and every fad diet, but nothing worked. Sally performs over 100 stage shows a year on tour, "delivering messages from the dead to the living", which are televised on Living TV. Celebrity clients include Katie Price, Natalie Umbruglia, George Michael and most notably, the late Princess Diana. She says:

"It got to a point where my weight was disabling me. My weight and size was making stage work a struggle. For the entire show I'm on my feet. I was carrying an excess 11½ stone on my back. I couldn't go for a walk without feeling breathless, I could hardly get into the car."

Mr Fiennes advised Sally she should have a gastric bypass operation otherwise she was in danger of having a stroke or heart attack. A gastric bypass operation creates a small pouch the size of a golf ball from part of the stomach and joins the intestine directly to it bypassing the rest of the stomach. By restricting intake and suppressing appetite it delivers major weight loss. The whole operation is conducted laparoscopically (by keyhole surgery).

"He said it would enable me to shed a substantial part of my excess weight in 12 months and increase my life expectancy,"

Sally said. Her experiences were the subject of a documentary "Psychic Sally's Big Fat Operation" on Living TV.

Prior to the operation, she was guided through a 'rapid reducing' diet of clear soups and yogurts by Louise, Specialist Nurse on the Team at St Anthony's Hospital, so she would lose some weight. The operation lasted three hours and after 24 hours, Sally was back on the ward, moving around and on the third day, went home. She lived on clear chicken soup and gradually introduced yogurt, mashed potato and baby food. It was four weeks before she ate solid food, but she had already lost 1½ stone since the operation. After three months, she performed on stage in a size 16 dress "It was the first time I'd worn a dress in 30 years," she says.

Today she weighs under 13 stone and is a dress size 14/16. She says:

"The operation changed my life for the better. I can walk without getting out of breath. I can cross my legs for the first time – I screamed with excitement! Overall my health is a million times better. I can go into normal shops for clothes. I sleep much better. It's not an easy alternative. It needs total commitment but at the end of it, you get your life back."

  • For further information about weight loss surgery:
  • St Anthony's Hospital – The Surrey Weight Loss Surgery Centre 020 8337 6691
  • www.surreyweightlosssurgey.org.uk
  • * Psychic Sally: On The Road series 2, Tuesdays 9pm from September 7th, Living
  • * Sally's next tour begins on September 11th, for more information visit www.sallymorgan.tv
  • * Source: Figures for 2008 The Health and Social Care Information Centre