Weight Loss Surgeons & Hospitals

I have already done the "Is he any good research." I do have a couple of questions before I actually go see him again: 1. What brand of band does he use? 2.Does he stitch the band onto the stomach?

I am considering having lap-band done and will be a self-pay as my insurance company does not pay for lap-band. Can anyone tell me the cost of surgery in the Dallas/Plano area? Thanks, Sue

Okay... Swinging the hands of time back just a tad.... I was married 17 years ago. I lived in another state from my fiance but was moving to Nashville where he lived after we got married. I didn't have a local doctor but I knew I wanted to go on BCP's after our marriage, so my wonderful fiance located a doctor here in Nashville so that I could get checked out and a prescription. When I was sitting in the waiting room, I kept noticing that all the patients were elderly. So I casually walked up to the receptionist window and took one of his business cards and it said that he was a Geriatric doctor!! I could have died! My fiance obviously didn't know what a Geriatri…

Has anyone used the Barix Clinic in Phila or other locations in the US? :)

Hi, Anyone out there get banded in Boston? I am considering getting banded and am looking into Tufts and Mass General. Any suggestions, ideas, hints or cautions? Thank you all! Love, Diva

I live in the Danbury area. Anyone have a doctor they can recommend to do fills in Fairfield County??

I have recently become extremely interested in getting Lap Band surgery. I'm not sure of a good doctor in my area (st. louis/st. charles MO), but want/need the surgery bad. Anyone have suggestions.

How long can you have the band does it ever have to be replaced? Anyone knwo the longest banster with current band. I found a great MD that can access my port easily under fluro. However he is a 2 hr drive from my house. My original MD could not access and told me I needed surgery. New MD looked at my band no errosion and good restriction with current fill of 4.4 none added since it is a 2 hr drive if too tight. :clap2: Annette:p

I have an amazing story to share. Last July I went to TJ and had LAPBAND surgery.Like most who go to Mexico, I went there because of the cost. My son had LB surgery in December 2004by Dr. Grossbard and was doing great. I thought, "This seems to be a simple operation..........., and so off I went. I had surgery July 4 and when I woke from the anesthesia and tried to drink some water, it came back up. I could not hold anything down. Three days post-op, I was taken for a barium swallow. I was told everything was fine, but my esophagus was inflamed. Seven days post-op I flew back to Florida still unable to hold down even water, but sure I would be OK in a couple of weeks lik…

This is my first post and hopefully I will be among the banded soon! My insurance covers lap band; I meet their criteria; I have meet all the requirements; I am confident with my surgeon's abilities. My concern is the level of attention to detail within his office. Yesterday I found out I was denied because the Lap Band Coordinator did not include all the reports. Also found out they never requested these documents when I finished my '6 months of physician directed weight loss' in October! I thought I was involved. I thought I was on top of things. I thought everything was on track. I didn't expect to be denied. And I certainly didn't expect to be told when th…

I'm wondering how many people here had him put it in and why they chose him. my wife and i chose him for his experience.

Can anyone relate or share there story on getting the preop testing done? I have not had a primary care physician for the last couple of years, so I do not have a pcp to give me a recommendation for surgery, which is required for approval w/Humana. I also have to have a upper gi xray and a cardio pulmonary clearance given along w/of course a pscyh evaluation and a one time visit w/a dietician. My concern is, I can't find anyone in Bowling Green, Ky willing to do these tests. The only thing I have considered as medical records for my weight is WIC papers that I have gotten from the WIC office and it has my weight history from 2004-Nov 2005. If anyone can offer any advice o…

Question: I found a Dr. in Albany - where I'm from but I also found another doctor in LI which would be 4 hours away but had done thousands more and is highly recommened???? Is it better to be closer even though I haven't met as many people with experiences with the Albany dr? I mean - you want someone good but is it to far a distance for the after care? I'm not worried about the drive.... Anyone used a doctor in the ALbany area? HELP!

Okay, maybe I need to check his message board but I always get so lost on Yahoo groups! So, I HEAR Kuri is working out of a new hospital, has new labs and flouro machines, and he has added referrals for plactic surgeons, and his patient reps are now assisting these plastic surgeons. I also e-mailed JoAnne a few weeks ago and I haven't heard back. Odd. So, what's up with the Kuri team, anyone know the scoop? Somethings brewing in TJ...is it good? Or is this old news and I'm just now getting a clue?

I had my surgery on 1/24 in Sioux Falls and was really surprised about a couple of things that happened. The surgeon was fine and everyone I met pre-op was great and very nice. But I didn't get my regular medications until I asked about them just before I was discharged after staying about 30 hours (I take a couple of antidepressants and use an inhaler for asthma). And then they were supposed to make the appointment with the docs office for a one-week followup and never did. I finally called the doc's office today and made it myself...it's a good thing I checked. The hospital is part of the Univ. of South Dakota, and I guess I expected the staff to be more on top of…

:help: does anyone know what types of pre-op testing dr. spivak will want before scheduling the surgery? i am self-paying the 15K dollar fee, and the lady at the office said that the pre-op testing will likely be covered by my insurance, even though my insurance will not cover the surgery.:target: i was in the chatroom last night and noticed a recurring theme of excessive bills for pre-op testing :paranoid . i need to lose 80 lbs, and i have no co-morbidities.:nervous if anyone can offer advice...i would appreciate it!:crazy:

does someone know of a good doctor in oklahoma

Can any of Dr. Spivak's patients tell me which hospital they used and give me their opinion of the hospital used and how long they stayed? I'm narrowing down my choices. Just talked to my insurance (United) and they said they will cover the procedure. :clap2: I'm very excited and want to get this scheduled asap. Also, can anyone let me know how long you had to wait to have the lapband procedure done with Dr. Spival.

I'm looking for a good Kansas doctor and will need to self pay. Can anyone give me some good names and cost for self - pay?:help:

I wanted to start a new tread on Dr. Jesse Lopez in Kansas. I had my first appointment with him today and everything went well. I'm scheduled for surgery on Nov 7, 2005. I just wanted to get some more feed back on people that may have already have surgery with Dr. Lopez? Thanks Elizabeth

After all the crying and stress and worry I finally found peace in my decision and had the LB surgery on 1/12/06 - that's right 2 days ago. I just got back home to MN about an hour ago and wanted to let those of you who patiently put up with will all my worries and questions - that I am fine - and happy. I saw Dr. Kuri and his team of surgeons in TJ, Mexico. They were more than what I could have expected. Yes, the nurses and assistants spoke little English but they were kind and thorough - and any time there was something that they could not understand from my charades they immediately called their P.R. manager up to my room and she took care of everything. But all …

Just wondering if anyone has had the surgery performed by Dr Aceves and wondering if you could share your experience and opinion. I am trying to decide between Dr Aceves and Dr Ortiz in Tiajuana. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you

Hello all, I am a newbie, scheduled to go to Mexico & be "banded" in a couple weeks with Dr. Covarrubias. Right away, I'm looking for a Dr. here in the Tampa Bay area who would be willing to do my aftercare. If anyone has any suggestions/recommendations/similar experiences, I would be most appreciative to any info I can get. Thank you & I look forward to sharing in everyone's experiences, wisdom and stories to come. Michelle

HI, I have an appointment to see Dr. LeClerc in Montreal. I am in Newfoundland, so going to montreal is not very easy. Anyways I was wondering what is Dr. LeClerc like, and where is his hospital? Thanks

I am considering using the Laporscopic Associates of San Francisco as my surgeons for the Lap Band. There is a place in WA that I am looking at also because they handle High Weight and High BMI patients. I wanted to know if anyone who has considered or had there surgery at LapSF thought they were good surgeons and what there over all opinion of the Doctors and Staff were like. Also did you have a stay in an actual hospital? Did you feel like they tried to talk you out of having the Lap Band? I would also like to here from any patients of there's who may have been High Weight or High BMI as well. Using LapSF would be the best choice because I have family in tha…

Hi all! I've been lurking, but decided it was time to finally post. Has anyone been a self-pay patient in the Dallas-Ft Worth area? How much did you pay? Would you recommend your doctor? What was the timeline from first visit to banding? How much are fills? Ok, yeah, we're just in the beginning phases of researching all this, but a doctor seemed like a good place to start. Thanks for the help! Janet

I'm working with Dr. Larry Gellman through LIJ/North Shore in Manhassat. Has anyone had any experience with him? Thanks... Mags

I am going next wednesday evening to a seminar about the lapband, the surgeon that I am looking into is Dr. William T. Avara, III and I was wondering if anyone has information on him? His center is located in Ocean Springs, Mississippi its called the Southern Mississippi Surgical Weight Loss Center. The cost of the lap band is 15,000.00, I have United Health Care but I can't get a clear word as to whether or not they will cover the cost of the surgery. Is 15,000.00 too much or comparable to other surgeons??? Any help would truly be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Hi has anyone went to Anthony Terracina at Weight loss surgrey center of hampton roads???If so how did you like him?:kiss

Hi Has anyone had surgery in England or France..

Has anyone heard of/been to Dr. Sewell in Southlake, Texas? I'm going for my initial consult with him next week, but was curious if anyone had any opinions or info. about him?

I am having a problem finding a general (GP) doctor who will assist me on my journey to get a Lap Band. I plan on using Dr. Billy for the Lap Band surgery. In the meantime, I need documentation to provide to Blue Cross of California and Blue Shield of California that this surgery is medically necessary so that insurance will cover the surgery. I will need (and will go through) six months of documentation that a doctor is supervising a weight loss program for me Anyone know a general doctor that I could use that is local to the Santa Clarita area? Thanks for any assistance, Cindy

Hi all, I have an appointment Thursday with Dr. Abkin in Morristown NJ, who comes highly recommended and he is sympathetic to my limited income. I also am seeing Dr. Fielding in NYU, New York next Thursday. AN information seminar only. They say he is the best and has done over a thousand bands and is baned himself. But the thing I don't like is I don't get to talk with him until I've jumped through the other hoops first (psych doc, tests etc)which I have to pay about $600 for. WHo would you choose? ALso,Just got off the phone with a woman at the NYU office named Veronica. I was asking what would be out of pocket for me. She said since the doctors are in network…

Has anyone had Dr. Margo in Deer River,Minnesota?Just curious.He was trained by Dr.S.Horgan in Chicago.

I have a 9.75cm band does this mean it only can hold 4cc's of saline? I was always under the impression that I would hold like 9cc's of fluid. My surgeon told me earlier out that I hade the petite band. ANyone know much about this?

Hi All-My husband is freeking because I really had planned on MX (Dr. Ortiz), but if I could get some input from anyone having good experiences with excellent surgeons in a closer proximity to Central AR, he might feel better about all this. Plus anyone knowing anything about United Healthcare (Railroad Health & Welfare Plan) benefit for lapband. ......Or any input on who to avoid in AR, TX, KS, MO or TN?????At least I could rule out who not to consider....Thanks for everything. P.S. :nervous It seems like there are so many doctors to choose from and so many bandsters go their own route....how do you finally choose???????this is a scarry process to me.

hi i have a european band and it is not f.d.a. approved and now in the process of finding out if dr.kuri will fill it, but i would love to hear from anyone who goes to dr.kuri for fills. how much are they? how far is his office from san diego airport ? is he nice ? and did anyone have a problem getting hold of them when you call there number . i am having trouble ??

hi everyone, i recentlly went to a seminar of a dr. grossbard..in florida,tampa area, who hopefully will be doing my lap-band. i was wondering if anyone out there has had him as a dr.?also i learned alot but what was so great is i already had so much info just from reading ya'lls letters..thanks all for helping.

Has anyone gone to John Hopkins in Baltimore for Lapbanding? Thanks

I'd like to hear your experiences, if they take Medicare and also your wait time for surgery.

Helloooo Anyone from New Jersey here? I'm in central NJ, Matawan. I am looking for a REALLY GOOD surgeon that takes Medicare.

I have had a terrible experience with Dr. Felix Spiegel (after travelling out of state to see him I might add) and especially with his nurse Melisa who is the rudest and most unprofessional person I have met in some time. What really got my back up was when I saw Dr. Spiegel and Melisa embracing in the back of the hallway as I was coming out of his presentation! Isn't he married to that loud woman with the bleached hair???????? What kind of place are they running anyway? I would appreciate if anyone else had similar experiences would tell me. I think the state should be warned about him. Evelyn

I am using Dr. Kenneth Chandler, in Decater, AL. He is new to lapband, but has been doing Gastric Bypass, for years. Right now he is running an excellent deal!!!:Bunny $10,600, for surgery & hospital costs!!! :Bunny I am sooooo excited to finally have a surgery date!!! I have waited since, Nov. If you would like more info, on this Dr., you can email me at LollarRanch@AOL.com Huggs! Tracy

I really need some help in deciding which WLS to have. I would appreciate any hands-on experiences about either method. Also, I am from Canada and would like info about the different Toronto doctors. Thanks

Hi all, In my Quest to make sure all of my questions get answered before I go ahead with the surgery, I've created somewhat of a small fear in my mind. If I go ahead with the surgery I will almost certainly be headed for Mexico as I have insufficient documentation to warrant getting it covered by medical here and would ultimately pay less than half down there. My concern is that I will struggle to find a doctor here in Alberta that will do my fills because of legal issues or what have you. If there happen to be any Canucks out there who have dealt with this already I would love to here from you. Thanks much. Lanie

I had surgery with Dr. Kuri August of 2004. I am down 110 lbs and it was the best decision I have ever made. I now work for Dr. Kuri and do his surgery scheduling. If anyone needs info or would like to schedule please email me. I would love to answer any questions you have. Thanks for your time. fellow bandster, Jessica jessesp9@comcast.net

I am having my surgery Jan. 12, 2006 by Dr. Kuri in Mex. I could not rest until I found a doctor that would handle my fills or emergency issues if I were not able to get back to Kuri. I made many calls in and around the metro area of St. Paul/Mpls and found that Dr. Sayeed Irkamuddin at the Univ. of MN Hospital - will take patients that have had their surgery in Mexico. I have not recvd his confirmation letter yet (I made an appt to see him in Feb) so I don't know what he's like or how much he charges. He is the Director of Bariatric Surgery and specializes in non-invasive surgery at the U of MN Hosp. Has anyone heard of him or been to see him???

Hi, I am new to this forum and also very interested in obtaining information on the lap band and local dr's. Does anyone have information on dr's located in Mississippi. Again, I'm just starting the process, I weigh 392lbs 6'4"tall and am a diabetic with a new little girl that I really need to live for. I know the way I am going now, I will die a very early death. I do have my diabetes under fair control but I know that it takes more than fair control to live longer. Please help if you can.

I had my surgery on 12/19 at the Dean Bariatric Clinic in Madison, WI. My surgeon is Dr. Huepenbecker (they call him "Hoops" for short! ) The thing I like best about Dean Bariatric is that you are required to go through a "program" in order to have surgery. I've noticed a few people on-line here who had virtually no pre- or post-op support and I simply can't imagine what that would be like. Here are some of the elements of my program: Pre-op: Meet with program coordinator Meet with nutritionist Meet with psychologist (take psychological test) The "team" then meets and reviews my file for surgery approval or recommendations Required attendance at a lap-band support…

My DW, MsJoy, was banded today, Dec 28th, at the Pine Creek Medical Center in Dallas, TX. The center is located at Harry Hines Blvd and Research Row. Her doctor was Nirmal Jayaseelan. I wanted to commend the nurses and staff at Pine Creek for a fantastic job. I felt everyone was dedicated to their jobs and to the personal touch and privacy of their patients. They explained everything very well and were willing to answer any and all questions. Even the ones I had about how to read the monitor on the wall. From Ursula, in admitting, to Lou, in recovery, to Bobby, the OR nurse, not to mention Dr. Luk, the aneste...the gas passer. Even the ladies in the Cafe who served up a r…