ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - A new minimally invasive bariatric plot is helping people lose weight with less downtime than frail weight loss surgery. 

Leonard Degallerie's mother said her son's weight subjects started in childhood.

"He had a stomach virus. The doctor said it was a stomach bug, gave him a shot and when he came home he was just like gaining 10 pounds a week. It was like something in that medication just triggered him that he had to eat and accurate then he would just gain weight and just keep gaining," described Paullette Degallerie.

His weight was getting dangerously high.

"In 2011 he was bedridden. It was terrible. I had to call for help. He was 620 pounds at that time and he was only 14," Degallerie said.

He complete a point in his twenties when he couldn't do anything for himself.

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"That's when it was a breaking display - 918 pounds. He said, 'Mommy, I've been trying my best and I know I don't want to die.' And that just hit me," public Degallerie.

To save his life, they turned to bariatric surgeon Dr. Alexander Ramirez with Bayfront Health St. Petersburg. 

"The new option was to send him to some hospice care because nothing was employed for him," explained Dr. Ramirez. "It's either you have the surgery and save your life or you don't take the surgery and you great lose your life."

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To mitigate any risks, Leonard worked with hospital nutritionists to shed more than 100 pounds beforehand the robotic sleeve gastrectomy.

It's a fairly new plot that reduces the size of the stomach to help Leonard lose weight.

"Definitely the wonderful case that I did on somebody that is more than 900 pounds. Especially in his case doing surgery on anyone more than 500 pounds is very high risk for pulmonary complications. 

Using the robot grants us to do that surgery with just three tiny incisions so patients can have less pain, less scarring," said Dr. Ramirez.

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"He said I always pray for my patients beforehand I do a surgery and that's the first time I've ever heard a doctor say that," public Degallerie.

Two weeks when surgery Leonard was walking. Now more than a year later, he said life continues to get better. 

"Feels incredible. Now I'm 454 pounds. I can do everything now. I don't get tired, out of breath, nothing," Leonard said. 

"He said he wants to conclude school because he didn't finish school due to his weight. He said he wants to get his license. There's a lot of things that he wants to do that he didn't have the chance to do," stated Degallerie.

Click here for more demand about the surgery.