Hi, I am new to the US and Arizona and live in Sedona with my new husband. I was banded at a reputable clinic in Vancouver, Canada 2 years ago and have recently had an experience where I ended up in Flagstaff Emergency having my band unfilled (at a cost of several thousand dollars) 'cause I couldn't get an appointment to have it done at the clinic in Flagstaff for another 3 weeks,. I had been sick and vomiting and with everything irritated and swollen I couldn't get food/fluid through the band for over 48 hours and was dehydrated. The clinic in Flagstaff only does fills/unfills one day a month and so they told me to go to the Emergency Department. I did get excellent care there but I'm used to being near a large centre where I could get an appointment for a fill/unfill very quickly and if I had been able to get to a doctor to have the unfill done I could have avoided significant financial costs. Not that I'm planning on having this happen again but in order to avoid this type of situation again I'm willing to drive to Phoenix for my fills/unfills. Is there any clinic/organization/doctor that would accept a former Canadian patient and has the flexibility to see a patient quickly and that you would recommend?

Try Dr. Terry Simpson in Phoenix. More than likely he will make you have an upper GI to make sure your band is ok before he will treat you. I was having issues with my original doctor after 3 years and wanted to change and I am glad I did. I had a minor slip my 1st doctor failed to diagnose.