Also known as: Severe obesity
Bobby Corso, a 678-pound man who has been homebound for five years, presents with severe abdominal pain. The episode centers on his extremely high-risk surgery and the ethical dilemmas surrounding treatment of a patient with self-inflicted health conditions.
Bobby has a severe deep tissue infection under his abdomen with necrotic fat that requires emergent surgical debridement. The infection is eating through his skin and poses life-threatening risk.
Also known as: Perforated colon from diverticular disease
During Bobby's surgery, surgeons discover he has diverticulitis with a perforated colon that is completely infected, which is the underlying cause of his abdominal crisis.
Also known as: Diabetes
Bobby developed diabetes after his weight gain and immobilization, adding to his surgical risk profile including risk of ketoacidotic coma.
Also known as: Broken ankle
When Bobby attempts to walk two steps, his ankle bones fracture under his weight because they are too weak to support him, demonstrating the physical toll of his condition.
Also known as: Heart attack
Nancy Temple, a 39-year-old woman, presents with atypical symptoms (nausea, dizziness, vomiting) that are diagnosed as a heart attack with female-pattern presentation, requiring emergent cardiac catheterization.
Nancy develops a ventricular wall rupture as a complication of her heart attack, requiring emergent surgery to repair the hole in her heart wall that is preventing proper blood flow.
Also known as: Broken kneecap
Jamie is hit by a car while biking and sustains a severely fractured patella requiring surgical repair with wire fixation.