PITTSBURGH -- One year ago, 29-year-old Jason Leslie would have had a difficult time performing a normally effortless task of walking down a hall.

He weighed more than 400 pounds and his heart was operating at only 10 to 15 percent. He was in heart failure, but refused a transplant.

"They said my heart would not be strong enough, and with the weight, healing would be arduous," said Leslie.

Doctors said it was unlikely he would survive, and his heart was too weak for him to undergo weight-loss surgery.

That's when doctors decided to put in a newer and smaller artificial heart pump that has given Leslie and others like him renewed hope.

"This is the first time I think we've seen some hope for these people that are crippled both by obesity and heart failure. The smaller devices that we currently have produce less complication and allow the patients to get more mobile and out of hospitals sooner. It also allows the surgeons that do obesity surgery to have access to the abdomen," said Dr. Robert Kormos, the medical director of the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine’s Clinical Translation Program at UPMC.

But bariatric surgery was not a sure thing for Leslie.

Doctors chose to remove 75 to 80 percent of his stomach and fashion what was left into a sleeve-like organ.

After that, Magee-Womens Hospital bariatric surgeon Ramesh Ramanathan said the rest was up to Leslie.

"Clearly he changed his eating habits, so he has done very, very well. [He's] lost close to 80 to 90 pounds so far," said Ramanathan.

For Leslie, it's all about keeping his eye on the prize.

"The prize would be a new heart, a healthier weight, a healthier me," said Leslie.

Leslie's cardiologist, Dr. Jeffrey Teuteberg, has applauded his patient's determination and heart.

"He got through the heart pump surgery very, very well. Recovered very quickly and got through the weight loss surgery very well and has been exercising and slowly losing weight," said Teuteberg.

For Leslie, the prize could come after shedding another 15 pounds.

"I have to be at 275 pounds to be on the transplant list and then it's just a waiting game," said Leslie.

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