Weis' lawyer, Michael Mone, made his comments at the start of the coach's malpractice trial.

Weis had the surgery in June 2002 while he was an assistant coach for the New England Patriots after battling obesity for years. He weighed about 350 pounds at the time.

Weis alleges in the lawsuit that Massachusetts General Hospital physicians Charles Ferguson and Richard Hodin acted negligently and left Weis so close to death that he received the Roman Catholic sacrament of last rites. He was in a coma for two weeks.

The doctors maintain they did nothing wrong.

Weis reported complications, including difficulty breathing, in the early morning a day after his surgery, Mone said in an opening statement in Suffolk Superior Court. The following day, doctors performed another surgery to fix problems caused by the initial procedure.

"For more than 30 hours, Mr. Weis continued to bleed," Mone said.

William J. Dailey Jr., an attorney for the doctors, told jurors the doctors acted appropriately and that Weis was believed to be in good condition the morning of the second procedure.

"There was no carelessness," Dailey said. "Unfortunately, Mr. Weis experienced one of the complications that is known to exist."

Ferguson performed the surgery, then left for the weekend. Hodin was charged with caring for Ferguson's patients while the doctor was gone, and performed the follow-up surgery.