I went to get a fill in Eagle,Idaho .She is with fillcentersusa and they don't have a flour machine but she tried for 45 minutes and couldn't get it.She said she had been told Dr.Sachez tends to put the band in at a angle and she thinks thats the problem anyway the bummer is it cost me $300 just to have her try she said there was no guarentee so I'm just out that money.I wrote aletter to Fillcenter but they never replied.

It seems to me that the fair thing would have been for that person to give you back at least half of your money. I hope fillcenterusa gives you some favorable options.

This is the 2nd complaint about fillcenterUSA that I've read in less than 24 hours. I think FuelMan had some problems with them as well. As memory serves......they charge like $299 for the initial and $75 for any fills after that, yes?

Anyway.........maybe we should be looking more into the better business bureau or some similar bureau for medical practice. What are the medical qualifications of the staff? How can they make such a broad statement about your particular surgeon?

Let's get the word out that maybe this fillcenterUSA isn't all it's cracked up to be.

Hi there,

I had a similar experience at a Fillcenter through fillcenterusa as well. I was told over the phone twice that they did have fluro and that they would charge $299 for my first visit/fill. Well, after the nurse got all of my patient information she informs me that she doesn't have fluro and that I still have to pay $299 even though she refused to even do a fill. She said that b/c I wasn't 6 weeks out *( I was 5) she would not do a fill but I still had to pay b/c it was technically my first visit.:faint: So I was very upset obviously and explained to her how unfair it is that i have to pay when I was lied to about what resources they had there, and that the whole reason for my visit was for a fill. Eventually she got back with me and said that she would speak to her manager and she could get a partial refund back. I don't know how much yet but I feel like at the most I should only be charged $75 for an office visit b/c that is all that I got. I would ask to speak to a manager. I definitely will never go to another fillcenterusa center. It is a scam. I hope that I get most of my money back and I would rather pay more somewhere else that is honest and reputable. Good luck! ~Liz

Banded by Dr.Ortiz March 10th, 2006

237/217

Has anyone had a fill at the TN fill office? If so what do you think about them?

Hi everyone,

I just want to share with the group that we have finally found a

very dependable fill clinic that is close to anyone living in the South

East. Me and my wife Kelli drove up from Atlanta last Friday which

was only about a 3 hour drive and even though we could have made the

round trip in a day we decided to stay on over night and get out an

experience Nashville. This was Kelli's first fill since her surgery

back on December 27th. She has lost about 30 lbs now and she was

very excited about getting her first adjustment. They did the procedure

under Flourascopy "which required us to have to follow our nurse

over to a imaging center which was about 20 minutes further from the

clinic" but I am glad we did it this way so we could confirm 100%

where Kelli's access port is. They ended up only putting in .8 cc's

which I know does not sound like it was enough but at the time it

was all she could handle, any more and she just shut closed completely.

The whole procedure only took about 2 hours from the moment we

arrived.

This clinic is part of the group listed on the Fill Center USA

website and their prices are very reasonable at only $300.00 for your first

fill and $150.00 for each additional. The Flouroscopy was extra and

optional, but if you have insurance they will bill your insurance

company directly. We were told that they are very successfull with

getting the insurance to pay for the service, she mentioned that it

had something to do with how they coded it to get payed. Anyway I

feel very comfortable in recomending them for anyone local in Georgia,

Alabama, South Carolina, or the sourounding area. Debra Kleven was

super nice and made us feel very welcome. She even gave us her cell

phone number and told my wife if she experienced too much

restriction she would meet us back at the clinic on Saturday to make an

adjustment before we left to go back home. Here is the information on the clinic and the location address:

Lamplight Health Care Providers L.L.C

Dr. Winston Griner M.D., Debra Kleven MSN ACNP,

2603 Elm Hill Pike, Suite K

Nashville, TN 37214

Phone: 615-349-6927

Stephen & Kelli Wallace / Atlanta, Georgia

Stephen and Kelli -- I know what you mean!!! I had my first fill form Debra yesterday and it was great!! The only difference was she picked me up from the airport and drove me to have my fluoroscopy and fill. I required 3cc I'm so glad I had it under fluoroscopy because of it being my first fill I'm not sure any one would have put that much in with out seeing anything less would not have giving me any restriction. Debra was so nice and helpful with all my questions. She stated my port was not hard to find and the next time she will be able to do it in the office if I wanted to. Since my insurance will pay for the fluoroscope I think I'm going to keep doing it that way hopefully it will cut down on the number of fills for me. I'm form SC and it was so worth the plane ticket and 299.00 for my first visit, next time it will be 155.00 and my plane ticket of around 200.00 that is still cheaper than getting a fill done here without fluoroscope!!! SO anyone thinking about a fill center go to Debra in Nashville TN she was great!!!!

Mindy

Columbia SC

can you tell me how much was the charge for the fluro?

Sorry but I have to momentarily hijack this thread to tell you about a loan officer named Patty Whack. One day a frog entered the bank and asked Patty Whack for a loan. Patty Whack asked the frog for collateral, so he pulled out a statue of Venus de Milo and offered it to the loan officer. Patty Whack explained to the frog that a statue of Venice de Milo did not constitute collateral, so Patty Whack called the manager over, who said, "It's a knickknack Patty Whack, give the frog a loan."

Now back to your regularly scheduled thread.

I cant believe that a center called "fillcenterusa" wouldnt even have a fluroscope immediately available and ready for your appointment.. Maybe writing an agitated yet professional letter would help the situation. No way would they be taking three hundred from me without doing something to fix the issue -- especially since she knows your doctors banding style.

My insurance paid for the Fluro the doctors office she took me to filled it themselves so there was no charge for me :-) and Chabuttter the only Dr's that do fills in Columbia SC do not do them under Fluro and their charge is still 500.00 for a fill thats why I went with Fill Centers USA-- I love the extra help they offer as well. Ther book is great I only wish I would have received it sooner!!

any one... help I need a fill... I am north of Spokane WA and need a fill... I was told that fillcenterusa was to have a few opening soon... I need their 800# to make a appt... thank you..

Toni,

you might want to check out their web site for locations & 800 numbers.

Doesn't sound like fillcentersusa is very "patient friendly" to me. Do you have any other options in your area?

Robin in AZ:confused:

Toni there is a Lady On DR Joyas lap band message board that is in Washington and fills mexican banded paitents....she may be on the other side of the state but she is very nice her name is Robin Martin

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/drjoya/

just post a message to her and she will respond I am sure

I was just told of a doctor in Coeur d' Alene which I have found is really Post Falls, ID I have to call them tomorrow... thanks for getting back to me though

I am moving to Washington, DC in a few months. Anyone know of a fill doctor in that area (northern Virginia or southern Maryland would work, too).

Thanks for any information!