# Extreme weight loss - what's the most a human can lose and survive? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 10, 2013, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extreme-weight-loss-whats-the-most-a-human-can-lose-and-survive/657985 "2013-05-10T12:27:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mr.Kobayashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Mr.Kobayashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kobayashi)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2013, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extreme-weight-loss-whats-the-most-a-human-can-lose-and-survive/657985/1 "2013-05-10T12:27:55Z")
Hopefully the title’s not too confusing - what I mean is, what’s the maximum amount of body mass an otherwise healthy human (female or male) can have surgically removed at once and still remain alive and concious after the event? Don’t worry, don’t need answers fast on this one. For instance, you don’t need your arms and legs, so amputate those. You can survive on one kidney, one lung and with some of your liver removed, so those could be removed. Appendix can be removed, as can tonsils. External ears, the nose aren’t needed for survival, slice those off. You can remove adrenal glands, so goodbye to those. For chaps, well, you know. [Wiki](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_-ectomies) has a list of -ectomies, what surgeons can slice out of you, but I don’t know how many of those would be survivable all at once and how many are mutually exclusive. Whatdya reckon? ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2013, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extreme-weight-loss-whats-the-most-a-human-can-lose-and-survive/657985/2 "2013-05-10T12:47:16Z")
I don’t have an answer but you might want to read _Survivor Type_ by Stephen King. ---
**Author:** ![picker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/picker/32/13969_2.png) [@picker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picker)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2013, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extreme-weight-loss-whats-the-most-a-human-can-lose-and-survive/657985/3 "2013-05-10T13:26:21Z")
_They taste like ladyfingers._ ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Kobayashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Mr.Kobayashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kobayashi)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2013, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extreme-weight-loss-whats-the-most-a-human-can-lose-and-survive/657985/4 "2013-05-10T15:56:49Z")
Stop that, you’re making me peckish! ---
**Author:** ![phouka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c5a1d2/32.png) [@phouka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phouka)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2013, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extreme-weight-loss-whats-the-most-a-human-can-lose-and-survive/657985/5 "2013-05-10T16:44:01Z")
Well, no, you can’t remove adrenal glands. You’ll die of Addison’s disease. You can remove adenoids. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2013, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extreme-weight-loss-whats-the-most-a-human-can-lose-and-survive/657985/6 "2013-05-10T17:15:30Z")
[Close to this I would assume](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66Pgw_nUlMw) [or this](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violetta_(entertainer)) ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Kobayashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Mr.Kobayashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kobayashi)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2013, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extreme-weight-loss-whats-the-most-a-human-can-lose-and-survive/657985/7 "2013-05-10T17:36:48Z")
> [@phouka](#): > > Well, no, you can’t remove adrenal glands. You’ll die of Addison’s disease. > > You can remove adenoids. You can have [both](http://www.surgeryencyclopedia.com/A-Ce/Adrenalectomy.html) adrenal glands removed in an adrenalectomy, afterwards you’d be hooked up on steroids like hydrocortisone and fludrocortisone for life. ---
**Author:** ![Zyanthia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Zyanthia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyanthia)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2013, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extreme-weight-loss-whats-the-most-a-human-can-lose-and-survive/657985/8 "2013-05-10T18:26:57Z")
NM no new info