So... I want banded plication but I live in Virginia and there are no Doctors doing it within a reasonable distance.

So far it seems Dr.Geiss in Ny/Nj is doing it and theres the iband people in austin texas.

Anyone know of any other doctors doing banded plication?

I have spoken to Dr. Mehta in NJ but he only does plication.

I do have insurance & they will pay for the band part and I will pay out of pocket for the plication.

-----------------------------

Just in case you don't know.

- plication: folding & stitching of the stomach longitudinally to create weight loss similar to the sleeve without removing the extra parts of the stomach.

-banded plication- placing a lapband or realize band over the plication to create adjustable results & have less hunger due to stomach below being smaller. The patient receives usually experiences less fills & risks of slippage & prolapse.

Where in Virginia are you? Have you checked with MCV or Bon-secours?

Yes. Both say its " investigational" they arent doing it without internal review board approval in a clinical trial setting. Which is paperwork for them so they aren't doing any as of now.

I am in northern virginia I live in ashburn near dulles airport. I am lucky to have coverage through Kaiser but not an approval as of yet they want you to go through their program inhouse before a referral to a surgeon. ( insurance bs & them stalling us. They only allow so many seats & only have class every other month to make a waiting list that is unnecessary imho)

Is a local dr bariatric dr willing to see you? You can travel to Geiss to meet him and for the surgery (he is excellent) and someone local for monthly follow up appts and fills. Would that work?

The local guys won't give me a solid answer if they'll do my follow up/fills. They said it had to do with their insurance not wanting them to take liability for someone elses work & if I end up in the er they won't know how to help me.

Which I think is BS. Its no different than doing fills on a regular lapband patient. And no different than a sleeve patient having leaks if that were to happen. Plus they want $180 for fills on a regular lapband without fluro which others have said was high.

This is just my opinion, but if you are having this much trouble now and you cannot even find a dr? You may want to rethink your options. It is just as important if not more to have excellent aftercare. Lots of us have done very well with just the band. You get what you give and seems you might think placating is a short cut. Maybe rethink!

I had the iband in TX. It is still in trial, but my insurance did cover it. I have lost more inches than weight for sure. I have had zero complications (6 months in).

As someone who was banded and then had a band slip, then opted for revision with plication... I just wshh I had done banded plicaiton from the outset!!! If band with plication isn't an option, please look at gastric sleeve.

I didn't research the sleeve because I didn't want something that wasn't reversable... after having the band alone, I am a firm believer that weight loss surgery is great... and I hope to never have to struggle with weight loss without one tool or another!

My surgeon Dr Hallowell does it. He is at university of Virginia. (UVA). I asked him bout it and he does it standard with every band.

I used Dr Garber in NY for my banded plication in May. Overall great experience.

I didnt even know uva had a program. Looks like google failed me

Did your insurance cover the plication as well or did you pay out of pocket?

They have a fabulous bariatric program. I hv Aetna and they cover it all. All my surgery cost was my copay of $125. Dr Hallowell is awesome and so is his whole staff. I asked him bout plicaton n he said he does it with every band because the band company recommends it for better results.

I didnt even know uva had a program. Looks like google failed me

Did your insurance cover the plication as well or did you pay out of pocket?

That makes 2 of us, if is something that will help and is available then why not do it. The clinic should've mentioned it instead of waiting for a slip revision and offering it then...thats if its even available here in AZ :/

Hell UVA is not really that far from you. At most three hours. Keep us posted.

I go to see Dr Hallowell today. I can grab his info if you can't find it online.