Weight Loss Surgeons & Hospitals

Is anyone one else having surgery in Jly with Dr. Waggoner. I would love to have a band buddie

I know there are a few people here, but no idea how to tell! I'm seeing Dr. Ahuja and my surgery is scheduled for January 17th. I've been talking (mostly on Facebook) with some other people in the area and it's been really nice to keep in touch! I mostly attend the evening support group, but I've been able to make a couple Monday afternoons.

So far so good! First fill scheduled for 6/10/09.

Hey everyone! I hope you guys don't mind that I've started a new thread. I've been talking to Terri from Dr. B's office, and she wants to email all of Dr. Bagnato's patients about this website and this support chat that all of us Bagnato Bandsters have going on. She was really impressed by how we've been supporting each other and wants all of Dr. B's patients to be able to come here and get support. I wanted the title of the thread to be clear and make sure everyone who was banded by Dr. Bagnato knows that they are welcome here, even if they don't live in Albany. For anyone who is interested, we have formed a support group and have decided to meet once a month. O…

I just wanted to say that i recommend Dr. Regan and his staff at Columbia Hospital in Milwaukee. They were to the point, got me approved within the 4 month period with Aetna. I thought the surgery went well, the nurses and staff were fine. I go for my first fill next week. So if anyone is looking for a decent lap band doctor in the South East Wisconsin area; i would recommend Dr. Regan and staff.:redface:

Im confused how the Lap Band works. If people won't or can't exercise and eat healthy without the band, how come they can with the band? I went to my first seminar today with Dr. Bonner on the lap band and the doctor stated that diet and exercise is a must even after banded. If that is the case, then why do people get banded instead of just doing it on their own?

HAs used Dr Ronald Keith inNorman , OKlahoma for WLS & what kind of surgery? How much was surgery?

Just wondering if anyone in the Missoula area had surgery from this doctor...

I am thinking about going to Dr. Ferrari. Has anyone used him or had any experience with him?

I have contacted my insurance and am in the beginning stages of working towards getting the Lap Band. I am so excited and somewhat anxious. I was wondering if any of you would give me your opinion on the best surgeons out of Des Peres, St. Alexius or SSM DePaul. Thanks in advance for any help or input.

He is total awesome sauce. I would recommend him to anyone of my friends or family members. He was so sweet and kind to me. And put me at ease before the surgery started. He gives you loads of information and answers any and every question you have. His staff is great too. Polite and informative too.

I just want to shout it out from the roof tops! He and his team are the best! He works out of Sky Ridge Medical Center in Lone Tree, CO If you want to research him - his website is http://www.nationalbariatrics.com/ If it wasn't for his office manager, Connie, I would not have gotten my surgery until this 2011 and that would have cost me THOUSANDS of dollars. She was helpful and makes everyone in the office a top priority. I don't know how she does it without going completely insane but she does. She is always calm and patient and extremely positive and understanding! Another invaluable member of his team is the nutritionist he works with, Kelly Elliot. I know…

Love this new forum, just wish it had been around when I was searching. However, for those who are searching, FYI, I chose Dr. T because of the location (GREAT hospital), and his willingness to perform fills when you NEED them versus based on a schedule. He also just charges a copay for fills which is great when I hear all these people who have to pay upwards of $100 for a fill. Makes being compliant much easier! I'll be glad to answer any questions anyone has about Dr. T or his office.

Hi trying to find someone sleeved by Doctor Suggs.

Hello all, I joined in May of 2010 and thanks to the wonderful advice of you guys I decided to get sleeved in Mexico since I was self-pay. I Googled, "Bariatric Mexico" and the third result was "Ready4AChange". I clicked on it and was almost convinced. So I came back here and searched for Dr. Miguel Zapata and found a couple of glowing reviews and I then was convinced I had found my doctor. I scheduled it out six months using their service and corresponded with alma, a wonderful caring lady from Monterrey. She always responded to my emails quickly the whole time. I put my deposit down and waited six months. I was to bring the balance when I came in the form of a bank …

I was banded by Dr. K on 5/26. So far I have had a great experience and I really like him. Dr. K does have a yahoogroup support group set up now. It's great to talk with others who are also patients of Dr. K.

I want to get lap band surgery but my insurance doesn't cover this procedure? I have a signed letter from my doctor that states that this surgery is necessary to improve my health and to minimize the complications of diabetes. Do I have any recourse? Can I make a claim through the state insurance commissioner asking that this procedure be covered? Has anyone else been able to get financial help even though it wasn't a covered procedure? Any suggestions would be appreciated. You can also send replies through my email address at kaishero6161@q.com Thanks, in advance for your help.

Hello Everyone, I just wanted to let you know that I have started including gastric sleeve patients in my awesome support program. I think the VSG is a great surgery. When you combine that with my education program, we are having some incredible results for our patients. I will be posting regularly here on this website, or you can see more on my website TheHealthpark.com Thanks and best of luck! Dr. V

Does anybody know where to call or who to write to in order to find out more information about Mexican surgeons? Stuff like how many leaks they have, rates of other complications and similar information? I just finished saving up and am starting to look for a place to go.

hi ... im new to this site ... booked for surgery with dr chris on 14th jan so really looking forward to it ... i just wanted to know about the hotel as i have 2 friends coming with me & wanted to know if you have 2 double beds in your room or will my friends have to book an extra room ... i booked direct with fredrick so not sure ... if anybody could help me please i would be very grateful ..

Dr. Weiss not only did my band but my husband too. I trust him completely.

Dr. Kehdy seemed kind and capable when I met him for the first time, but as time has gone on I have developed a deep respect for him. He is a wonderful surgeon and addresses all my concerns no matter how small. He is extremely thorough in gathering information about lifestyle and habits post operatively to help you be as successful as possible. He makes Norton's program look good. I feel blessed to have lucked out and gotten such a great surgeon. He is extremely competent and definitely knows his stuff and his bedside manner is fabulous. He also has a great sense of humor, something I find so rare in most physicians. The office staff is friendly, but takes their time wh…

Would love to hear what surgeon you used (if somewhat near the KC area) and a bit about your experience with the whole process! Thanks in advance.

I was banded on 12/17 by Dr. Mo, and he did a good job. My pre-op class was lead by his partner, Dr. L. and he seems personable. I am interested if there are others out there who have had surgeries by either dr. and who have attended the support groups. Have they been helpful?

My name is Peggy and I am overweight. Now that my daughter is 21 I decided it was time to take care of me. I am a single 41 y/o female who weighs (BIG GULP) 240lbs. My lapband journey has begun. The other night I went to the consulation meeting where I was pointed in the right direction. On August 13 I will see Dr. Fred Buckley in Salem MA and he will be my compass in mapping out the rest of my journey. For all those who are starting out, like me, welcome to the Band-it journey! I posted this in the introduction section. I wanted to post it here to hopefully keep in contact with anyone else who is traveling down the same road as myself.

Hello there - I too had the band surgery on Friday Dec. 17th with Dr. McCloskey! I am wondering if we saw each other when waiting for our x-ray on the last day in the hospital? How are you feeling now? I am feeling really good and getting use to eating only little amounts of what we can eat right now. I had to go back Monday after the surgery to have 3 cc's removed from the band because I had a lot of swelling around the band post-op. Let me know how you are doing! Hope great!

I went to a few seminars recently and found the Doctors from ALSA, Dr. Higa & Dr. Boone to be the best choice for me. They are not very experienced in the VSG surgery, but the practice has over 11,000 total surgeries between them. The seminar was very professional, and the hospital that they do there surgeries out of, Fresno Heart and Surgical seems to be one of the best in the country. Not only do these guys not charge a "Program Fee" like a lot of other docs seem to be charging these days, Fresno Heart and Surgical also provides the Nutrionist consult and Psych eval for FREE! It seems like The whole team of doctors and staff have the WLS patients success and well b…

Anybody had or having surgery done by Dr.Miles in birmingham Alabama? If so how was your experiance.

I am scheduled for a consult with Dr. Bell next month. Has anyone had the procedure done by him?

i noticed in the louisville section on here the two doctors I know of, and the doctors who are hosting my seminar, are not on here. They are surgeons ni Baptist East Bariatric Surgery center, Dr.Oldham and Dr. Weiss, anyone know anything about them? Used them? Had amazing experiences with a surgeon in or around Louisville? Thanks!

I went through Park Nicollet’s Bariatric Surgery division. Everything was amazing beginning to end. The first step was to go to an informational meeting. From there I filled out paperwork and set up my first appointment with the nurse. This nurse oversaw my case beginning to end (I had Dorothy). On a side note I loved that almost everyone working in the Bariatric unit had gone through a weight loss surgery themselves. It made talking about my weight and issues a lot more comfortable. Another plus is that you get firsthand knowledge from each person you interact with. My insurance company is BCBS of MN. That meant that I had to do 6 months of nutritionist meetin…

Hi Alex. I tried to reply to your note the other day but am so ignorant about this P.C. stuff that the response I sent was sent back to me. (computer guy, I am not!) I still need to contact Dr. Fox's office and get the ball rolling on this project. I have a number of questions to ask and then we can proceed, yea or nay. I am having problems navigating this site so I can read the blogs and ask some questions from those of you that have had the procedure. I logged onto Lapbandtalk.com, I hope thats right. Guess I'll find out, huh? Hope to hear from you again. RayO

Hi all I am a newbe I want to know how many people are using the Baldwin Park Ca Kaiser I'm going to orientation in January and would like to know if there are any concerns with the BP Kaiser Thanks SleeveTele

Just wanted to let IL of Dr Woody Denham's partner who was fabulous. I think he was very innovative, professional and listened to me. He gets an A+ in my book!

Hello, Has anyone had surgery at Scripps? Im not sure of the name of the surgeon but he's an older Japanese gentleman. I would like to know how long the hospital stay usually is, as well as when I actually need to check in. Also, are there accommodations for family? Last, is there any special pre-op diet that PB requires us to go on? I was just told by the surgeon to restrict my meals to 2 a day plus a Protein shake. Thanks!!!

Hi I am being banded by Dr Chris in Belgium on 29th Dec, Has anyone been banded by him. How did you find the hospital and staff?. I would also like to hear from anyone who is about to be banded by him.

I have been thinking about going through the lap band procedure for the past several years. Type II diabetes is common in my family and when my father was in his 40's he was diagnosed with type II and in '96 he had a massive stroke. I have no insurance to help me fund the procedure and will finance through a lender. What type of tests will I have to go through before I can have the surgery done and why? My height is 5'8" and weigh 450 pounds and I'm 30 yrs old.

I was just banded this past thursday 9/9 Dr Cywes is the bomb! cute in scrubs too.

I'm just trying to find a surgeon and I will be paying for the surgery myself. I found the Mt Zion website and was just wondering if anyone has any information about them. Thank you!

Dr Minks performed my surgery and everything went very smoothly. Turned out better than i could ever have imagined!! Dr Beane and Dr Minks work together with their team at Grand River Surgery. And what an amazing team it is. They all work so well together for pre-op and post-op care!!! I am very pleased with them thus far and I know I will continue to be pleased in the future!!! I hope those of you searching for a surgeon in the area goes to them because you will not be disappointed!!! I would be happy to answer any questions anyone has about them or their practice, as best i can!!

Just wondering if anyone knows about either Dr. Lee Schmitt or Dr. Tim Christopher in Alabama? :001_unsure:

I have met her already at a seminar and absolutely clocked with her instantly. My PCP chose Dr. Gibbs I quickly called him up and demanded Vemulapalli. I will have my first consultation at the end of June. Looking forward to it.

I've read alot about Dr. Aceves and was just wondering if anyone had any information about him. I was looking at Mt. Zion and they gave a price and pick u up from the airport and had a place for family to stay and all. I was just wondering if anyone could tell me a price range and what it all includes. Thank you!

I'll have united through my husband and he works for the state. Any one have the same and get covered for the lap band? Thanks Melissa

I was banded by Dr. D in july of 2009 in Rochester (don't know why it's not listed under NY)...he's is absolutely the BEST!! Please let me know if anyone has any questions about him....you would be lucky to be his patient!

I can't say enough good things about Dr. Baptista. Dr. B is in practice with Dr. Cwyes that I love as well. I met with both of them and then decided to have my surgery done by Dr. B. just because I thought our personalities were more similar. Dr. B. is very caring and gentle. If your really looking for someone to kick you in your ass then go with Dr. Cwyes but I knew for me and this journey that I would respond better to the more gentle approach. Don't get me wrong Dr. B. will lay down the law when he needs to but even when I screw up I don't worry about an appointment with him. I fell off the band wagon over the holiday's with family in town and he said ok...let's …

.I have had this band for 3 yrs now and have just been told I have Ms, I am thinking about getting back to the band and getting a fill the last time I got a fill the woman made me feel stupied because I didnt lose much. I have only had 2 fills

can you please tell me how long the gass will last, I done my surgery 11/30/10 and I'm still experianing gasses also presure on my chest? scared and consern?

Just curious if any one has been banded by Dr. Marc Rickford in DC? If so, what is his personality/demeanor? Just want to know what I'm in for? I have my initial consultation in a few weeks to determine if I'm eligible for banding. Thanks seige

Hello. I am starting this process and going to the first seminar on 9/25/10. Anyone in the area going as well? I'm super nervous and don't know a whole lot about this whole process yet so anyone around the area that has input it would be appreciated!