I would like to know!

Also, adversely - if you've had a horrible experience with any doctors in this area, please post this here too.

Thanks!

Get in touch with MacMadame. Her sleeve surgeon is very good and I believe he is in San Fransisco.

Thanks! I've been in touch with her already, though not to ask about her surgeon personally. lol

LapSF is one of the top programs in the country. They do all the surgery types and have been a pioneer of the sleeve, doing as many as anyone in the US and publishing papers on it. They've put a lot of effort into perfecting the operation too.

If you like blunt doctors who won't coddle you and will push you to lose all the weight you can, there is Dr. Cirangle, my surgeon. If you like a surgeon with a gentle bedside manner, there is Dr. Jossart. So you can pick what style works best for you.

Oh, I will say that the office staff can be disorganized. You need to keep on them sometimes.

LapSF is one of the top programs in the country. They do all the surgery types and have been a pioneer of the sleeve, doing as many as anyone in the US and publishing papers on it. They've put a lot of effort into perfecting the operation too.

If you like blunt doctors who won't coddle you and will push you to lose all the weight you can, there is Dr. Cirangle, my surgeon. If you like a surgeon with a gentle bedside manner, there is Dr. Jossart. So you can pick what style works best for you.

Oh, I will say that the office staff can be disorganized. You need to keep on them sometimes.

Thank you so much! I'm probably going to look into these doctors when the time comes. I think I'd rather pay to have it done than go with Kaiser. I'm very comfortable with my Health Plan. I'm still talking a ways down the road but that's ok.

I can't give up my band until it's run its course either. It is helping lots with weight gain prevention if anything. I've already come a long way.

Who knows? In time more insurances will start to pick up on this procedure. I don't think I'll ever get the Rouxen-Y though. I'm not knocking it at all, I just already have nourishment issues. I'm sure that surgery would be bad news for me.

Maybe I am wrong on this Mac, but doesn't Dr. Cirangle contract w/Kaiser? My mother has a friend of a friend w/Kaiser and she thought it was Dr. C. Anyway, they are great Lil' Miss. Dr. Cirangle is the only one that travels to Sacramento for pre & post-op visits and he is at the monthly support group too. They both assist each other during surgery and back each other up, so there is always a surgeon to talk to, if you need answers quickly. So, in a way, you get two for one. :-)

Edited September 29, 200916 yr by Steph_123

Maybe I am wrong on this Mac, but doesn't Dr. Cirangle contract w/Kaiser? My mother has a friend of a friend w/Kaiser and she thought it was Dr. C. Anyway, they are great Lil' Miss. Dr. Cirangle is the only one that travels to Sacramento for pre & post-op visits and he is at the monthly support group too. They both assist each other during surgery and back each other up, so there is always a surgeon to talk to, if you need answers quickly. So, in a way, you get two for one. :-)

Hi Steph! Thanks so much for your reply. :001_cool:

Dr cirangle sounds great! I wonder if I could find out more about him by checking the net. That would be great to find out if he does work out of Kaiser, then I would feel more comfortable with possibly making a change to them. Word of mouth is always the best.

Thanks again!

Well here is what I've found. I don't see Kaiser mentioned anywhere but I did notice the Blue Shield mentioned which is my insurance provider. Maybe I can dig further and see what I can find out. You never know, insurances tend to change what they will cover daily...

Laparoscopic Associates: Hospitals Where We Practice Weight-Loss Surgery

No, Dr. C. is not contracted with Kaiser. Dr. Rabkin has a contract with them to perform the DS, since no one at Kaiser does it.

LapSF does a lot of Kaiser patients as self-pay for various reasons. For example, because they weren't doing the sleeve for a while, because they have a LONG waiting list, because they sometimes insist they do the surgery they want you to do and not one you want, etc.

I heard on Sat. that Kaiser Fremont is starting to offer people the choice of the sleeve and will start doing them in Oct. btw.

Does anyone know what the self-pay amount looks like going with LapSF and/or Dr. Cirangle? I'm in the process of researching further into doctors, and am hoping someone might know. I previously had a band for a few years that leaked and then eroded, it was removed in March this year (2009) and I'm slowly gaining. I couldn't have a revision at the time from band to sleeve due to the problems with my stomach from the erosion, etc. Any thoughts you might have would be helpful. I've been to MX twice for surgery, so I'm not scared of it... but I must say, I would like to stay closer to home this time if at all possible. Thanks for your kind help, in advance. :lol0:

I paid approx 17K with Dr. Cirangle. I am 7 weeks out and down 45lbs and would do it again without question! He is very professional and highly skilled. You will not be disappointed.

I will second Mac though...this office staff can be disorganized, but worth dealing with to get the surgery through Dr. C.

I paid $16890 using their "ala carte" plan. I had already gotten the NUT consult and pysch eval that are included in the 17,500 price. If you have to get everything done, then the "all inclusive" price is better.

I'm going to assume that it will cost you more to get a revision though. Only because that's what other surgeons do.

I'm so glad I found "this" section.

Kevin

San Jose.

Dr Fisher at Richmond CA Kaiser Permanente did mine and I could not be happier. Everyone was so nice and helpful. The procedure has been a breeze so far

weight loss

">http://www.weight-loss-center.net/">weight loss

I used Dr Ali at UCDavis in Sacramento. I have Western Health Advantage Insurance. Their team is great, I got everything done in about 6 weeks from start to finish. So far so good for me, I'm only out of surgery 6 days.