AUGUST 27, 2004 - Calling himself the biggest fat sucker in Texaevable," Ersek said. "I'm the actor, the director and the cinematographer."

Using a metal wand more than a foot long and about as thick as a pencil he started to suck out the fat. Attached to a long clear tube with a collection bottle at the end, Ersek stuck the wand deep into his abdomen and pushed it from side to side.

"I feel absolutely fine," he said, as he operated. "I am surprised how simple and how comfortable this is."

In less than 20 minutes, Ersek had removed about a pound and a half of fat from his left abdomen, leaving the 5-foot-6 doctor weighing in at about 198 pounds.

Elizabeth Scarbrough, vice president of MacroPore Biosurgery Inc. of San Diego, told the Austin American Statesman Ersek collected 250 cubic centimeters of tissue, much more than the 100cc minimum for stem cell processing. Her company will isolate and store Ersek's stem cells at -370 degrees Fahrenheit in case he needs them in the future.

Ersek said he'd leave his right side "as is" for now and be his own before-and-after liposuction ad for his patients.

(Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)