I am looking for people in Maine who have had the band and who might know of a doctor who will do fills, mine just retired.

I live in Southern Maine and had my band in Portsmouth NH. Dr. Petculli is great.

I am checking into the Portsmouth Regional Hospital bariatric program in a few weeks -- will be going to a seminar in mid-June. I live in Lewiston.

Best of luck to you! Rachel

Any reason why you are doing Portsmouth and not Augusta? Just wondering.

Hello ! I live in southern Maine and was banded 2 weeks ago in Portsmouth, NH (Portsmouth Regional Hospital). The staff is wonderful and the program, in my opinion, has been outstanding so far. 2 weeks and 10 pounds down ! I have Dr. Gens form Atlantic Surgical Assoc. also located in Portsmouth, NH. Good luck with your fills and I look forward to my first fill as I AM HUNGRY !!!!

Hi! I am so glad to hear from you. and that you are doing well, so far. I have not had surgery yet - insurance coverage is an issue. We are checking to see if my husband's insurance will cover. Do you mind my asking if you had any problems with insurance - what company are you insured with? Aetna (mine) won't cover the procedure.

My insurance did not cover any of the procedure. All bariatric surgery is excluded.

Dr. Richard Morand or Dr. Cameron McKee from Augusta surgical associates both do Lap-Band surgery and fills! (both are excellent). I am having my band in june. I'm a RN and I worked with both Docs in the past. Both are excellent surgeons.. Good Luck!

Hi, my insurance was a real pain in my butt as I had to go through 6 months of Dr. supervised dieting along with the usual stuff the surgeons make you do. I was busy doing the evals., classes and Dr. appointments, but I went through it all to get banded, and that is what I did ! I wrote a letter to stick in with my other paperwork for my insurance Co.to read as I wanted them to know my perspective on the whole issue. I don't know if it helped, but it is worth a shot. Also, I had to make sure I did everythng exactly to their specifications. I have Cigna and normally they do not cover this surgery, but as I dug deeper into our paperwork and called the Human Services Dept. at the company my hubby works at, there was a slight but very important "rider policy" on treatment for obesity ! YEAY ! Whatever it takes, do your homework and hopefully your insurance will cover at least some of the surgery. GOOD LUCK !!!!

Dr. Morand with Augusta Surgical Associates is who I see and he is wonderful.

Hi there,

I'm from Northern Maine and I will be going to Dr. Toder at Eastern Maine Medical Center. She does fills after surgery. I am not sure if she does them only for her patients but maybe you could give her office a call to find out. 207-973-6383:)

I am scheduled for my lapband on May 2nd. I am really excited! Dr. Renee Wolff will be doing the procedure. She and Dr. Cobean have been doing them in Portland at Maine Medical Center since Feb 2006. I am a nurse also and will be a patient on the floor where I used to work at Maine Medical - that will be a little strange.

Rachel

Hi Capegirl, I am just starting out and have chosen one of the two Docs in Augusta. How long did you have to wait from your PCP referral to the actual banding?? Did they require a 6 month diet for you? I have been extra large for 40 years so i am not concerned with an extra 6 months...lol. When they made your appts...ie: nutritionist, psyc, and psyc trainer....were they able to do them in the late afternoon? I am a teacher and can get out of school by 1pm. Thank you in advance for any help you can offer. Kimberly

I was banded 6/10/08 by Dr McKee from Me General Bariatrics in Augusta. Dr Trieu is the other surgeron there. They accept transfer patients who already have been banded. They require a program fee of $500.00 to transfer to their office, so if it's only for fills, I dont' know if it's what you want. IF you were to transfer for long term, it's worth it!

Sarah

Sarah, I got a copy of the letter that my GP sent to Mckee and to my insurance company...it was amazing! He outlined every diet I have been on in the last 8 years...I wonder if they will still insist that I do ANOTHER supervised diet for 6 months? I read thru all of Cigna's material and they do require a 6 month diet UNLESS you have documentation from another doc in the last 2 years. I am very fortunate to have the PCP that I do. I want so badly to be able to get started on my new way of living. Kimberly

Kimberly- WHoo- WHooo!! Yeh for you and your very supportive Dr!! Man, that's so cool what he did for you! I imagine, of course depending on the contents of the report, that you should be all set if all they require is past documentation of frequent dieting! Yeh for all of your past attempts being documented! You don't have to wait for the insurance approval to come thru to have your consult with the surgeon. If your dr has submitted the referral to the bariatric center, call the center and schedule that first appt! There is so much that you can get done in the meantime!

Glad it's good news-

Sarah