Hi

Has anyone had surgery in England or France..

i was baned in belguim and having serious trouble getting fills right now as my band is bioring and not f.d.a. approved, but if you have had a lapband put in in england is it the same as mine . oh and bt the way i am english i come from ipswich in suffolk and live here in north carolina for now (husbands military)

Hi I was banded in Britian

tell me more about yourself and where do you live are you in england now

I am now 27. female

I had a balloon in my stomach for 6 months first and then in August 2004 I had my band fitted.

I still live in England.

I have had 2 fills and waiting for an appt for my 3rd fill.

I was 26st 6lb I am now 17st 13lb.

What about you?

Hi

Yes I am still in England, I live in West Yorkshire. I have been looking at a Doctor in Belgium, Dr Focquet, however there was a television programme on the other night and the lady went to Belgium and the procedure did not work at all. I am worried that I will go over there, spend all the money and then it not work.

It is just the price is nearly half of what it costs over here.:help:

hi.

I am 32 very very fat. I am looking to have this procedure done. I have recently lost 3 stone 10 with Slimming world, however have now got bored of it and put a stone back on. I have checked out the hospitals in England and they are all too expensive from 6-7 thousand. I have seen one in belgium for £3700, however am worried that i will go over there and spend all that money and it won't work. Can I ask where you got banded

hi , i had my lapband done in belguim by a dr.eric neville and he has been doing lapbands for ten years but i have come across trouble as he used a new kind of band and its not f.d.a. approved here in the u.s and can't find a doctor to do my fills , but like you i did all the diets and just got bigger and bigger.. i am about 14 stone and they class that as very very big in belguim as they are alot slimmer in europe in general compared to the u.s even though there catching up what with all take outs they are now getting ect. i do recomend it as its almost a garentee you lose as you simply can't eat as much , you can still suck down chocolate and cake so if this is your food its probably not going to work i was a person that just can't stop eating until i feel soooo full . its not really what i eat its more like the amount , i love bread and potato and pasta and you just can't eat alot of it as you stomach has been made so small . infact you really should go on a hi protein low carb meals after the op and thats pretty much from there on in .i will send you my doctors email he is belguim and does not speak perfect english but he will email you back, erik.niville@pandora.be he is in a place called genk in belguim and he works from a office in his massive house and the hospital he does the op from is directly behind it. he charged me about 5000 euro but this was two years ago now so i don't know if this is the same , just another option is going to mexico!! you know it would be just as cheap you can get a flight to san diego which is about 15 miles from the mexican border and see a doctor there , there are two which have done thousands and theres one which will send you a taxi and arrange hotel and everything, thats where i probably have to go for my fills as they fill non f.d.a. bands but i would look into them first, i know all this sounds really hard but the mexican ones do poeple from all over the world . here are some web sites you can read all about them www.beliteweight.com and theres www.obesitycontrolcenter.com . thinking about it i would go to mexico if i were you , i would hate for you to be in the same boat as me and be stuck for your fills , i know the flight to san diego would be more than belguim , but as far as price i think you will be surpised at how cheap it is to actually have the op especially compared to england i looked up prices in england and then i could just stay at my mums but its was double if not more and it was totually out of my budget.well have a read and get back to me . i am now in the process of getting an appointment with dr.ortiz in mexico and you will find him on the pages i sent you . good luck and if you have anymore questions just ask , i am here for you girl sherry

Hi

Thanks I will take a look at that, However I am in England and am on my own with a child so was more concerned about having to get someone to look after her for 2 weeks if I went to Mexico, although it would be nice.

Thanks for the information I am going to mail the Doctor tonight and see what he says.

Dont go abroad to get it done!!!

Get yourself to the doctors and try and get the operation on the NHS.

Its free then.

Plus if you get it done on the NHS they cover all of the expenses after the operation.

It isnt just the cost of having the band fitted you need to think about the cost of after care and how you are going to get it if your consultant is in belguim and you are in england.

What are you going to do if you have a problem? Jump on a plane? The best thing to do is wait and get it done on the NHS. Apply for funding and wait. Honestly, I wouldn't go abroad and get it done.

Think before you take action. I would rather wait a couple of years for funding on the NHS as take a chance gooing to another country.

Lynsey

P.S. If you want to email me feel free the address is lynsey1978@btopenworld.com. I check my mails most days.

i didn't realise they are doing the surgery on the n.h.s . if they do i agree wait and get it done there , believe me thats what i would have done ,i haven't been in england for about ten years and so i am not up to date with what there covering on the n.h.s now. like lynsey said there are follow ups and thats where i am having trouble now, its not so much the op its the fills where you need a reliable contact,

thanks will try for the doctors, have got an appointment in 2 weeks (we have a very busy doctor). I did not think that they would do this on the NHS, however there is no harm in trying.

Thanks to everyone who has offered me advise it is really helpful. I will let you know what the doctor says

i am glad your trying england first, i really think this is your best bet.lay it on thick girl and i will be thinking of ya. if i was in england i would have had it done there in a heart beat (theres nothing like your own lot) if you get excepted and have more questions let us know. sherry