Stomach stapling remains the only safe and effective long-term treatment for the morbidly obese. Surgeons trim the stomach so that it can only hold one ounce. You'd think these patients would wither away, but many still eat, eat, eat. Hunger drives them to continuously consume small, calorie-dense snacks, but they don't gain because their tiny stomachs won't let enough in. The stomach-stapled typically lose 50 to 100 pounds, and 80 percent of them maintain at least a 10-percent weight loss a decade after surgery.