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Is there anyone interested in organizing a class action lawsuit against TLBC or Dr. Yau? They are not honouring the agreements any longer since they are now Slimband. I have read multiple posts about this but cant reach anyone to see how to co ordinate a group. Anyone interested???

I was banded at TLBC and I remember freaking out when they changed their name to Slimband. I was banded by Dr. Yau. I was told I am his patient and not slimbands so they will not support me even for pay. What are the TLBC lifer's who now have no support going to do? I am really worried and think I might have a slip. I am afraid to go to the doctor since if they defill the band I might never be able to get it filled again.

I have to pay out of pocket. Actually I'm using my mom's line of credit... that way you can technically pay up front (slimband sometimes has promos which help with the cost of travelling, but you have to pay up front) and then you can take your time paying it off. Lapband suggested looking at what your bank can do for you, I guess if you get financing through the clinic you might end up paying a higher interest rate. Kinda sucks that most provinces won't cover it... Good luck to you.

I am interested in a class action lawsuit as well, banded April 2014 and had it removed October 2016 (by a different Dr in a different province) due to complications that Slimband didn't want to help with. The kicker is... I am still paying the weekly payment for something I dont have and something that never worked properly in the first place

Shasta the difference between a slimband and the realize band?

Lucy, I am a TLBC patient and have been for 7 years, it is a good clinic. I have had one negative experience with the clinic since it has been open and it was easily solved.. I sent an email, got a solution and that was that. I would advise you to visit both before you make your decision. I know SWLC patients and they all love their clinic too... I think both clinics will do phone consults to save you an initial trip it is only a phone call and they both will pay for long distance. Before going into any clinic there are some questions I would ask knowing what I know now. 1) fills how long are they covered and if not for life why not? 2) complications who pays and how much and why aren't they covered? 3) post op support what do they offer and how this is very important for new patients to understand and distance patients it becomes even more important. And yes Slimband may have a few vocal patients who aren't happy today but there are a few hundred I know personally who are delighted with the clinic and wouldn't go any where else. Most of all I say go with where you are comfy and if you choose to talk to Slimband ask them about the negative comments and what you have read and see what they say Good luck and make the choice you are comfortable with Heather

I had TLBC (now slimband) and know Dr. Yau is excellent. He is well respected. There is another clinic opened in Vancouver, the False Creek Clinic that is affiliated with the Winnipeg Clinic. Their nurse attends our support group at the Lions Gate Hospital every 3rd Wednesday. Everyone welcome (had to get that in).Its free. There is a Dr. Leung and a Dr. R. Woodhead who have are well received by their patients. I also had the need for a fluro and went down to Maryville just outside Seattle to the Northwest Fills and found the two nurses excellent. They now travel to Bellingham to do fills and/or fluros. Hope these suggestions will help.

Hi Debbie. Yes I go to Dr. Woodhead (referred to by my clinic) and hopefully a few of his patients will respond to your post. I like him very much. Dr. W. does not have a clinic but he does his surgery at the Delta hospital. I find him very supportive. Here is a list of questions prepared by a successful bandster. I had my band in Toronto, but the distance is so far away that I cannot take advantage of the support so I pay for my fills. I get my support from Dr. W. and the Support group that meets at the Lions Gate Hospital and from the Slimband website. These are just a few of the questions that come to mind that are important in helping to make a decision in deciding which band surgeon and/or clinic to go with: · Is there a fee for consultation? · Are any of your staff at the clinic banded? · What other staff are available to patients such as dieticians, nutritionists, psychologists? o Is there a cost for their services? · Does the clinic have a website and a messageboard and or chatroom available for Lap Band potential patients to access? · What percentage of your bariatric clinic is devoted to lap band patients? · What is your medical education? · What experience in term of years and number of procedures do you have in lap band surgeries? · What experience do you have in performing revisions? · If you are a revision, what tests will you need to have done ahead of time to be sure you can have a lap band? · Do you have any statistics regarding your lap band practice and number of patients who have had slippages, band erosions or other complications? · What type of warranty comes with your lap band surgery? · What type of bands do they use and how do they determine the type and size? · Is there a pre-op diet you need to follow? o If so is there a cost involved? How much? · If I don't follow the pre op diet perfectly am I still allowed to get the surgery? · What tests and paperwork do I need to have done prior to being accepted for banding? o Is there any charge? How much? o What is the time span? · Is the surgery performed in the clinic or at the hospital? · In case of an emergency what is the procedure that is followed? · How soon after surgery can I go home? · What type of accreditation does your clinic have? · How do your operating rooms compare to those in a hospital if surgery is performed at the clinic? · Can you give me references from other patients I may talk to, especially those who are a revision from past weight loss surgery? · How long am I required to be in town before my surgery? · Is there a hotel that is recommended? o If so, is there a preferred rate at this hotel? o Is there a shuttle available from this hotel to clinic and back and how much does this cost? · Are my family members allowed to remain in the waiting room while I am in surgery or are they asked to leave until I am in the recovery room? · How long after I wake up can I go home? · What special medications will I need to purchase before hand? o Gas-x? liquid Calcium? chewable multi Vitamins? .... · How long would you recommend I take off work after surgery? · If I have a hernia do you fix this? o Is there an extra cost associated? · How long do I have to have a caregiver with me after surgery? · Is there someone I can hire to be my caregiver if I come alone? · Do you use latex? · Is there a deposit I have to pay to hold my surgery? o How much? o Is it refundable if I change my mind? · How must my final payment be made -- money order/visa/cheque? o Does it have to be in before my surgery or do I bring it with me on my surgery day? · If I have further questions may I contact you or your clinic with them? Even more important is follow up care: · What type of aftercare program does their clinic have? · What is covered in the cost of your surgery in regards to aftercare? · Is there an after hour phone number in case of an emergency or concern you encounter outside of normal business hours? o Is he/she available on call to answer or return your call? o Who responds to calls? · Do you have support groups available locally and in my area? · Is there a fee for any aftercare services? · How soon after surgery is your first fill usually? · What hours am I able to come in for fills and days? · How often between fills are you eligible for your next one? · How are the fills performed and are they with or without fluoroscopy? · Do you have to pay for your fills or are they covered in your surgery fee? o If they are not covered what is the fee? · If you live far away from the band clinic, do they have anyone local or closer to your home who is trained by the clinic to do your fills? o If so do you pay a fee to them and if so how much? · In case of complications post op, if you had a slippage or worse case scenario band erosion is any further surgery to remove the band covered or would you have to pay? · In case of a defective port or leak is the surgery to replace it covered in the lap band surgery cost? · In case of a defective lap band is it replaced at no cost to you the patient? · If you needed a new band for any reason such as the above or band leak, etc., is it replaced free of charge to you? o If not what type of cost would you be responsible for? · At the clinic does the surgeon do your follow up fills or fill nurses? o If nurses, what training do they have and can you meet them before committing to this surgery? · What criteria do they base your needing a fill or defill? · How long does it take when calling to book a fill does it take to get an appointment? · How much time is the fill nurse allotted to spend with you answering any questions or concerns also? · Are any of your staff at the clinic banded? · What other staff are available to help patients, i.e., dieticians, nutritionists, psychologists? o Is there a cost for their services? · Does the clinic have a website and a messageboard and or chatroom available for Lap Band patients to access? Pick out the ones may help you to make a decision.

Patricia: This doctor has been used by TLBC (Slimband) from the Toronto Lapband Clinic (now Slimband) for their patients in BC. He does fills for their patients. I know of one lady who goes to him and thinks he is very caring. Payment up front of course. Slimband patients go through the clinic fill nurse in Toronto for appointments. I understand they pay up front too and get reimbursed later if their contract calls for free fills. Also, I was told that this Dr. has been trained by Slimband in fills.

Thank you all (well most of you ) for your support and words of encouragement to stick to the doctors orders, the truth of the matter is I've been under an extreme amount of stress this week ( lack of sleep, getting mortgage approval, fertility treatments and testing and my hell on earth job) and everything toppled down on me today lick a tone of bricks. I messed up and ate solids after my fill today, today was the first time I broke the rules by not following the doctor's orders and I was scared that I had ruined my surgery and or caused some sort of physical damage to my body. Since the installation of my slimband 1 year ago it has really helped me with my emotional eating and I've prided myself on being able to stick with the program. I feel horrible that I let the stress in my life affect me this way but I am determined to get back on track and SOME of the feedback I've received here has really helped me get my mind straight and get myself back on track. I've had my Slimband for a year this was my third fill, I have a 10 cc band and I currently have 7.5 cc's in my band as today. I would like others in the lapband talk community to know that I am in no way advocating that they not follow their doctor's orders I would encourage everyone to stick to the rules and if you're feeling emotional or upset reach out and talk it through. The Lapband talk really really helped me in that regard; my hubby was at work and unable to answer my call, so I ate I wish I had thought about coming to lapband talk first. I found the majority of people here at lapband talk to be very honest and kind, I've learned that staying negative or allowing negative people to permeate your space will set you up for failure so avoid them at all cost. So with that I didn't beat myself up ( I used to beat myself up in the past, but ever since i've had the slimband installed I've become a whole lot mentally stronger) moving forward I'm just going to dust myself off and move forward. I will be back on liquids for the next 24 hours and then move to thicker liquids for the next 24 hours and then back on solids. And the next time I'm feeling overwhelmed, upset and or stressed out I will log on here and vent :-) Thank you for responding to my post.

Hi All, Im new to this forum and used to maintain band-support contact via a dear banded friend who passed away in 2014. I am now taking legal action against Slimband and wondering if anyone is still seeking action against the clinic. I understand that regardless of the Feb 2014 articles, Dr Yau never left the clinic. He was there performing surgery the entire time. My surgery was performed in 2011 by Dr Kundal and 3 Upper GI's over 2.5 years showed it was never in place and the clinic has ignored me this entire time. Im now finding I have to sleep sitting up and spend most of every night choking. If anyone has had any success or is in the process of taking action against Slimband I would be very interested to hear from you.

Hello everyone, I was banded by Dr. Yau in 2011. I've had numerous complications...still have discomfort, and I can't get any support from Slimband now. I still have my band. I would be interested in meeting and talking with others who share similar experiences. My email is: bryndayman@hotmail.com Take care, Bryn

I cannot say anything negative about Slimband as I feel they saved my life and started me on this journey. most companies go bankrupt and reopen under a different name. Mostly because of a law suit.

I had this done 5 years ago. Took 2 years of work but I got to my goal weight. The Slimband dosen't do the work for you, You have to do it. And yes there are rules to losing weight, just like for everyone else on the planet. What I love is that sense of being full, which I didn't have, I now do have which to me was most of the battle. I still eat out a lot with my friends, but its nice to be full, see a plate of food and take it home to eat for later without feeling hungry or that craving. Its been a learning curve for sure and a lot of trial by error ( don't eat in front of the TV for the first little bit!) But I cannot recommend this enough. If you are willing to roll up your sleeves and work towards your weight goal. Then you are going to succeed. Simple. If you are expecting the Slimband to do all the work and not change at least a few of your eating habits, then forget it.

Don't be fooled. He works at Slimband. See below. I find it really sketchy that when I call Slimband and ask where I can go to get a fill (because they will no longer support me) they say go to Hazati at the GreenStone Health Clinic. So Slimband won't treat me and give me fills and defills but one of their doctor's will?!?!?!? To me, it seems that not only is Slimband not honouring our agreement for a lifelong support system but one of their surgeons is taking even more of our money for fills. Ali Hazrati MD, MSc, FRCSC's Experience Medical Director, Staff Bariatric Surgeon Slimband Privately Held; 51-200 employees; Health, Wellness and Fitness industry January 2013 – Present (1 year 4 months) Toronto, Canada Area Minimally Invasive General & Bariatric Surgeon The Scarborough Hospital & Slimband Clinic Nonprofit; 1001-5000 employees; Hospital & Health Care industry 2011 – Present (3 years)

I got mine at slimband. I am down 30 lbs. I have been vlogging my progress on YouTube (moniquesjourney). That's been a lot of fun. I am adjusting well to eating with the band. Are you excited?. I am excited and very nervous!! My eating is out of control, because I feel I will never be able to have those foods again.....I know this is not rational, but I am still overeating ugh!!!! I thought slim band went out of business?? How expensive was that??

I got mine at slimband. I am down 30 lbs. I have been vlogging my progress on YouTube (moniquesjourney). That's been a lot of fun. I am adjusting well to eating with the band. Are you excited?

Hi, I live in Ontario, Niagara Region, where are you located? I'm being banded on June 28 in Toronto (Slimband). I am so ready!! Especially after this two week pre-op... Going to Orlando this weekend so that will get my mind of this diet, and the surgery. Itsn't it strange how so many of us are excited about this surgery and starting their new lives with the BAND! Good luck with your consult tomorrow. Keep in touch.

Hi Julie, I haven't been on this site for a year, but I just wanted to let you know that I was banded at TLBC now Slimband by Dr. Yau. I paid 16,000. It was the best thing that I ever did. I wish I had done it sooner. There are a few of us that meet for coffee in Bells Corners once a month and we have a group on yahoo. I think Secret Innocent post the link a few posts ago. You are welcome to join us for coffee and ask questions. We have all went to different clinics. Cindy

I found this on those specific doctors/centers, definitely have a look. It sounds like SWLC is a much better and safer choice: http://www.ratemds.com/doctor-ratings/47736/Dr-Chris-Cobourn-Mississauga-ON.html Plus, it appears Dr. Cobourn uses the proven safe Lap-Band whereas I've never heard of Slimband.

I just wanted to share my story, I'm sorry you feel that I'm promoting Slimband. I'm simply letting people know that Slimband worked for me, it has changed my life. If I can help anyone else out there who, like me, has struggled with weight all of their life, that is my goal. I wanted to be of help to anyone that had questions regarding Slimband.

Bandjennafar, I'm glad you are happy with the clinic SLIMBAND. I had a friend who was banded by Dr. Yau and he has lost 120lbs! I did not find out until recently:). Continue to post, I didn't fill out my info until recently and I was posting blogs;) My pic is a photo of my pug;))) as for the original post, I choose SWLC and will be banded in November....

Hello, I have just joined this forum and find it most informative. I am very happy to see that most of you have had good experiences at the Slimband clinic in Toronto. I am visiting my own GP tomorrow to get his input and then I will hopefully be able to book my own surgery soon afterward. Best of luck to you all and I look forward to sharing my own experiences with you soon.

I'm in the process of booking my surgery with Slimband right now. My surgery is scheduled for April 16th and I'm really looking forward to it. So far my experience has been a bit of a roller coaster. It went like this: 1. First point of contact was with someone called Tara (I think). I'm not entirely sure what her name was but I'll tell you now she was super pushy and VERY rude to me. I was debating between having my surgery in the UK (where I'd been living for the last 7 years) and having it done in Canada. She was so rude to me about choosing some 'foreign' doctor to do my surgery and tried to scare me into believing that NO canadian doctor would take care of me after I'd had surgery abroad. I explained to her that I already had a doctor lined up as a family member had their lap band done abroad in January. She still didn't believe me. She told me she'd never heard of any doctor willing to clean up some other doctor's mess. VERY rude, very pushy and a complete liar. I was not impressed. BUT I wanted to know the cost and she wouldn't tell me so I asked to speak to a 'consultant'. 2. I spoke with a consultant called Niki. She's actually the woman from the TV ads and on the website. She was completely different to my first point of contact. She was pleasant and listened to all of my questions and answered them to my satisfaction. She explained that even though I'm based in Ottawa, they have 'outreach programs' and a doctor in Ottawa that does fills/defills for Slimband. Well, it seems it's the same doctor I was going to go to when I was thinking of getting my surgery in the UK. Anyway, Niki gave me plenty of information and helped me through the application process. That being said, when there was a delay with a fax I should have sent the sales person pressure came out of Niki as well. She pulled out classic sales tactics 101 and tried threats, fear, implying she did me a favour, and strict deadlines. I ended up sending her the information she was after and literally haven't heard from her since. 3. Now, the thing that's weird for me is that throughout Niki's sales pitch I was told that Dr Patrick Yau had completed over 3500 surgeries and that the rest of the staff had completed nearly another 1500. I made it clear from the start that if I was going to go with Slimband I wanted Dr Yau. I've tried on multiple occasions to get confirmation that Dr Yau will be performing my surgery and even suggested that if he's not available I'm prepared to wait and all communication has gone cold. No response. 4. I received the 'services agreement' and in the agreement it says that any member of their surgical staff that they deem suitable may perform my surgery. I wasn't told THAT during the whole sales pitch! 5. The services agreement also outlines an 'explanatory binder' and a 'surgery DVD' that I should receive but I haven't yet and when I've asked about it twice none of the contacts have provided an explanation. 6. I tried to join Myslimband.com and post questions and comments but for some reason I can't post anywhere. I sent a message to Amy the administrator a couple of days ago and haven't heard anything back. It seems pretty silly to me to have a 'forum' when only SOME people are allowed to be involved in the discussion. So, here I am living in Ottawa awaiting a surgery from a COMPANY I'm not entirely sure I want to work with. All of their staff have told me to email them with questions or concerns and their website promotes their 'support' for their clients but since I've signed the $16,000 away, I haven't really had ANY real answers to my questions. I'm trying to be balanced here so I will say that I've had my blood work done and it has Dr Yau's name on it but I wonder if any other Slimband patients have had his name on their forms and had their surgery done by another doctor. I've also got the pre-op diet information sheet which is easy to understand and follow. I've started today but I've got some questions and since non of the Slimband staff are replying to my emails and I don't have any permissions in the Slimband forum I came here. Not only am I nervous about this life-changing surgery and the $16,000 debt I've just agreed to I'm totally confused because I've got plenty more questions AND I don't even know who my surgeon is going to be. I've found some answers here so this forum has been a pretty big help. Keep looking around and you'll find more answers yourself. I don't mean for this to discourage you or anyone else considering Slimband because when the contact silence finally ends I'm sure I'll end up happier but I guess I just feel a bit trapped now when I should be feeling anticipation and some relief for the life change ahead of me. Good luck!

I'm going to Slimband... I spoke with Kathy, and she was fantastic! Any questions I come up with she answers them pretty fast. I'm glad to see some positive reviews about the actual surgery through slimband, although after reading some of the posts about the inital consult kind of get you thinking. Good Luck to everyone!!!